Obey Me Akatsuki
by swirlheart
Summary: Summery: As the only girl in the Akatsuki, you're entitled to a little fun. So what happens when Konan discovers a way to mess with people's minds? Great. She can hypnotize them. This is gonna be good. Requested fanfiction. Rated T mostly because of Hidan. Please read and review.
1. Different from Normal

Requested fanfic. But I kinda wanted to do this anyway. Just ashamed I didn't think of it sooner ^^'

Well, unless you've been living under a rock, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. That right goes to Masashi Kishimoto. So there's my disclaimer. Now on to the fun!

* * *

**Chapter one: Different from Normal**

Konan sat against the wall, turning a thin scroll over in her hands. As she turned it, she couldn't help but curl the edges. If the scroll weren't so thick, it would be much easier to fold into a long stem. Scrolls weren't meant to be folded. She looked over at Nagato laying on a bed of stone softened only by a pile of straw and a single blanket. He had his back turned to her, saying nothing. They had spent the last few hours in silence. It was hard for her to know if he was awake or not.

"They'll be arriving soon, won't they?" he asked softly.

She didn't looked up from the scroll in her hands. "Yes."

He glanced over his shoulder, only for a moment, to look at her. Then he rested his head against his arm, facing the other way. "This will be one of the rare times when everyone's all together."

"We've had our meetings," she said softly.

"But this is a time when we're together without a jutsu over great distances. We will all be together under one roof for a time. A long time."

"Only a few days until things calm down a little. It's a safe house. You picked the location yourself." Konan uncurled the corners of the scroll and flattened it out over her knee, trying to smooth it before rolling it back up.

"It is a safe place where we can all locate and live comfortably for a short time." He gave a sigh, his voice growing weaker.

"Are you alright?" she asked looking up from the scroll in her hand.

"Yes." He let out a deep breath. "This headache is getting worse. I think it might be becoming a migraine."

She said nothing, but shifted her legs to let him know that she had heard him.

"I'm trusting you to go there and keep an eye on them in my place."

She nodded, even knowing that he could not see her do so. "I understand. I'll take care of everything. Don't worry."

He shifted and she stopped. "Wait." He was silent for a while. She stared at him, scroll folded up in her hand. He gestured to her with his shoulder, not turning to face her. "That scroll you have in your hand. Was it from that woman you met before?"

She held it tighter. "Yes." She kept her answer short. He already knew the story. They passed by a small shop on their way to the next town and then to their current hiding place. The shop seemed rundown and about to close any day. The old woman who ran it seemed desperate to sell. When she saw them pass, she stopped them and asked if she could interest them in anything. Nagato ignored her and Konan was eager to follow his lead. Then the woman asked if they were ninja and they both stopped. They talked for a short while and at the end of their conversation, she handed Konan a scroll. The scroll in her hand at that moment.

Nagato gave a nod of his head. "Is it what she claimed it would be?"

She turned it over in her hand. "It seems so."

"It only lasts for a week, correct?"

"Yes."

He nodded again. "I see. And she gave it to you yesterday. That means you have five days left. Six if you count today."

She nodded. "Yes."

He shifted again, throwing an arm over his eyes. "You should use it. After all you will be stuck with them for a week. This should make good use of it. And it gives you an excuse to be more open and speak. You little wallflower."

Konan tucked the scroll away in her coat and out of sight. "Do you think so?"

"Of course." She could practically hear the smile he was giving her. "You're entitled to a little fun. And if you need to hear it, I give you permission to mess with them a little."

She nodded and turned to give him a proper farewell. "I'll put everything back when I'm finished."

"If you wish," he said. "No hurry."

* * *

Not too bad for a start, right?

This is gonna be fun! ^-^


	2. Meetings

**Chapter 2: Meetings**

Now that Naruto was no longer at the Leaf Village and his whereabouts were unknown, the Akatsuki had nothing to do between finding all the tailed beasts. Most of them were taken care of. Still, the search continued for the few remaining.

However, things had gotten turbulent ever since the attack on the Leaf Village and the recent beasts being located and taken care of. It wasn't safe for them to go wandering around so freely anymore. They had to keep a low profile for a little while. Some villages were searching for them, vengeful for their fallen men while ninja searched for them in an attempt to stop them. The Leaf Village seemed especially motivated to dispose of them after Itachi's attack on Sasuke and Kakashi and several other ninja. If they did too much at once it would arose suspicion and any movement they made might tip someone off.

That is why Nagato opted to bring them all to a single hidden location for a week's time until things cooled down somewhat in hot areas keen to their activity. At first, some of the members thought it was foolish to bring everyone together, but the more their mysterious leader spoke, the more it seemed reasonable. This was a hidden location. No one knew of it and it was in an area irrelevant to any of their hotspots. It held nothing of interest and it wasn't near any tailed beasts, which everyone knew they were after, so no one would think about traveling so far and to such an uninteresting and poor area. No one, not even ninja knew about it. It was very well hidden and no one traveled that way.

The Akatsuki members started to arrive in groups of two. Konan was the first to arrive along with Itachi and Kisame. Deidara and Sasori were the next to arrive followed by Zetsu. They waited for the others to arrive. Konan looked up at the thick trees surrounding them, blocking their location from view. The large rocky hill behind them was very steep and did its part to hide the other side of their temporary home. She then looked at the building that almost looked like it was a part of the hillside, covered by leaves and moss. It appeared small from the front, but that was only because most of the building was built into the side of the hill. Most of the rooms would be without windows which was fine with them. It would be like living in a cave but with all the luxuries of a real home. It had pluming and a working kitchen and even furniture. Each member would have their own room as well. It would be like dorm life. Which didn't sound too wonderful considering who the boarders would be.

At last, the two remaining members they were waiting for arrived from the trees. Hidan and Kakuzu seemed to be trying to race each other for who would be the first of them to reach the rest of the group without running.

"It's about time you showed up," Deidara teased.

"We would have been here sooner if somebody…" Hidan glared at his partner. "Didn't waste time on a coin he found on the ground."

"It took you that long to pick up a coin?" Itachi asked in mild disbelief.

Kakuzu frowned behind his raised collar and faced the other direction. "It was a 100 yen coin and it was wedged between the tree roots. Must have grown around the coin. It looked old like it had been there a while."

"Then leave the damn thing well enough alone, ass!"

"Money spends the same. Old or not, dirty or not."

Hidan cursed him under his breath and then looked around at everyone else. "So this is it?" He counted them off with his wandering eyes. "Aren't we missing someone? There should be someone else, right?"

"The leader couldn't make it. He is not feeling well and chooses to remain hidden," explained Konan.

"Well, good for him, the lousy mother-"

"So this is where we'll be for a whole week?" Kakuzu asked, interrupting Hidan. "Why? I could refuse, you know."

"You don't have to pay for anything so you get to keep your money and I understand that the family that used this safe house years ago left emergency money stolen away inside. No one is sure where exactly so it's possible that it's still there."

Kakuzu pushed them aside. "Sold." He was the first one to the door.

The others started after him, but Konan held back, reaching into her coat and feeling the smooth sides of the hidden scroll. Nagato gave her permission to do as she pleased and entertain herself a little.

According to the woman who gave her the scroll, from the moment it's opened, the scroll grants the opener the power of hypnosis for one week. The scroll's power was only good for that amount of time. After a week, it would become useless. And since she was the one who opened it, it would work for her and no one else. The problem was that the scroll held no instructions. Only limited advice. Hints and tips. That was all. She would have to do everything herself. Everything was incredibly vague.

But she would have this power for one week. She really shouldn't pass this up. And who knew? Maybe she could make this week's stay a little more tolerable.

Keeping the scroll out of sight, she entered their temporary home and sealed the door shut.

The boys were already at each other's throats and they were only in each other's company for a few minutes.

"Please don't tell me you're going to be tearing up the walls in this place, you zombie freak."

Kakuzu was sniffing around the walls, tapping the surface with his knuckles, searching for a weak spot or a hollow area where treasure could be buried. "If you find anything… Anything at all, give it to me. If I think you're holding out, I'll rip your face off."

"And it begins," Deidara said dramatically, throwing his arms in the air. "Please, tell me my door's nowhere near his."

"Hey, Kakuzu," said Sasori. "I'll give you the change in my pocket if you get on your knees for me."

He shot him a look and then went back to tapping walls.

"It's shiny."

A knife was thrown at his head and sank into the wall just above Hidan's head.

"Are you trying to kill me you son of a bitch?!"

Kisame laughed and elbowed Itachi in the rib. "This is gonna be a fun week, isn't it? Hahaha! I can tell already."

"At least until someone loses it and kills everyone."

"Yeah, but how long's that gonna take?" Kisame asked. "A couple days?"

Hidan threw a knife back at his partner which was deflected and sent into the floor.

"Or less," Itachi answered coolly.

Kisame ducked a flying shuriken. "I see what you mean. They're only going to last a couple of hours."

Itachi closed his eyes lazily, ignoring the foursome dueling on the floor, each one trying to pummel the other in a flurry of weapons and fists. "At this rate it might only be minutes."

Konan stood by the wall and watched them thoughtfully. Using this newfound hypnotism may prove useful in this situation. But how would she know if she could do it or not? She would have to test it in order to make sure.

Now the question was who would make a good guinea pig? It couldn't be too easy a subject otherwise it could be passed off as stupidity and not real hypnosis. If it worked on a complete fool and she tried to use it on someone of a stronger will and intellect, the results could be disastrous. In this case she had to start out big in order to know if it was real or not. But who would be a good test subject?

She watched as Itachi stepped over the brawling Akatsuki on the floor and went to the other side of the building. "Since you're all there, I'll take the opportunity to pick my own room. Far away from you."

"Hmm." Konan put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. Itachi would make a good subject. He didn't seem the type to drown out everything she had to say and would sit there quietly. He was intelligent enough to not be passed off as a fool. And he was a genjutsu user. Surely if she could hypnotize him she could hypnotize anybody.

Now how to do it. She needed a plan.

* * *

Great. So who's first? Everyone's favorite big brother ^-^

I think we all know it's not going to end well.

Please review! Nicely :D


	3. Itachi

**Chapter 3: Itachi **

Now that the noise had settled down, Itachi sat quietly in his new room, making the most of it. He had just brewed himself some tea and ate the rice balls he had bought on his way to the meeting place. Three rice balls were very filling and the tea calmed him. Right now, he was enjoying a book he had found in a table drawer. He had only gotten to the fourth page when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter." He hoped it wasn't nonsense, like someone seeking his input and deciding who the victor was in the earlier brawl.

Thankfully that was not the case. Konan entered the room carrying a pot in her arms and a wooden spoon. She gave him a calm smile. "Hello."

He closed the book giving her his full attention. "May I help you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." She set the pot down on the table beside Itachi and handed him a spoon. "I was testing out my culinary skills and want your opinion on this stew."

He looked at the spoon she held out for him to take. "Oh?"

This seemed like a good plan. Surely he wasn't suspicious about something like this.

He took the spoon from her and dipped it into the pot and tastes the dark brown broth. "Hm." He licked his lips. "It's fine."

"Just fine? Does it need anything? Do you like it?"

"It's fine." He set the spoon down and sat back in his chair. "A little salty. But the thickness is good. It has a nice flavor."

"Ok. Thanks." She started to add some spice to the mixture and stirred it with her wooden spoon. "Don't go anywhere, I want you to taste it again in a minute."

Itachi sighed. "I've already eaten."

_I know_, she thought to herself. _And the tea as well. Everyone knows that a full stomach makes you sleepy_. "That's fine. I just want you to taste it. That's all." She moved around to the other side of the pot, letting Itachi have a better view of what she was doing. He would catch on if she were to start swinging a pendulum in front of his face. But she felt that she needed something to focus his attention on. A spoon rotating rhythmically in the pot should have the same effect, she thought. That was her plan.

Itachi watched her add some herbs to the pot and stir them. He watched the dark green flacks float on the surface until they disappeared into the stew with the strokes of her spoon. Her spoon kept spinning. He tore his eyes away and made to get up.

"Don't go anywhere. I need you to taste this. I can't trust the others with something like this. You have the best taste out of all of them. It's not like I can get the puppet to do it."

He sat back down with a heavy sigh. With nothing to do and her stirring distracting him from his book, he watched her add some more herbs to the broth. She stirred it together. Her storks were no longer going in circular motions. She drew lines in the surface of the stew, making Xs and check marks. He could hear the end of the spoon crapping the bottom and sides of the pot. He leaned back watching. He watched her delicate hands reach for more ingredients and add it to the mixture with such care and precision. It was like watching a cooking show. She even gave soft comments as she worked, talking to the stew. He had never heard her speak so much before. She had such a delicate and soothing voice. He had never noticed it before. It put him at ease.

His eyes started to grow heavy. He blinked and looked away for a moment, trying to collect himself. Then he looked back and his eyes caught the spinning spoon once more. His brain tingled strangely. Things were starting to get fuzzy. His thoughts grew foggier as he watched her gentle movements.

Konan looked up and noticed the blank expression on Itachi's face. As he watched, his jaw grew slack and his eyelids drooped. She continued to comment on the food. Then she added to the comments, working him into her calm words. "You're looking sleepy." She stirred. "You must be tired."

He stared at the pot blankly, saying nothing. He seemed to be falling into a trance.

"You're getting sleepier… and sleepier… and sleepier."

His eyelids fluttered slightly and his head began to bob. He blinked, trying to fight off the urge to sleep.

"Sleepier and sleepier and sleepier and sleepier."

Itachi closed his mouth and swallowed and let it fall open again. His shoulders started to slump.

She continued to stir the stew, talking to him in hushed tones. "You're eyes are getting heavy. They're getting so heavy. Heavier and heavier."

His eyes drooped again. For a moment, his head dipped down and he sat up, blinking, picking himself up again. Then his eyes found the spoon and he relaxed.

"You should close your eyes."

His eyes grew heavier.

"Close your eyes."

They fluttered.

"Close them."

He let his eyes fall shut and his head dropped forward.

She stopped stirring the pot and came over to crouch in front of him. His head kept bobbing slowly up and down. He wasn't completely under just yet. "Open your eyes and look at me. Look into my eyes."

His eyes opened and locked onto hers. His eyes were blank and emotionless. As he stared into her eyes, his eyes grew heavier without her having to tell him.

"Relax. You feel safe. You feel relaxed. Just keep looking into my eyes and feel yourself going in deeper and deeper."

His head bobbed again. He fought hard to keep his eyes open.

"Relax."

He was breathing calmly. His eyelids fluttered again.

"Relax."

His eyes drooped.

"It's alright. You're safe."

He relaxed further at her words.

She moved closer to him, his eyes focused only on her. "You're falling into a very deep sleep. You're getting sleepier and sleepier."

His eyes drooped again. They looked about ready to close.

She moved closer. He didn't react. He looked like he was a million miles away. She was about to enter a countdown and get him to fall completely into a trance when the door was kicked open behind her.

"Hey! Itachi, do you know anything about-"

"Knock!" Konan jumped to her feet, startled at Kakuzu's loud voice and backed away from Itachi who's eyes had snapped wide open, freed from her spell. "Damn you!"

Kakuzu raised a brow at them. It must have looked strange from his perspective seeing Konan kneeling in front of Itachi like that and so closely, too. They had sprang apart so fast, he couldn't help but wonder… "Did I interrupt something?"

"No." Konan moved closer toward the table and looked at Itachi shaking his head and blinking furiously. He was now almost completely awake. "Um, Itachi."

He staggered out of the chair and wobbled toward the open door. "I… I'm…" He slurred sounding like he had just woken up. He was still in a daze. "I'm… Uh… I'm g- gonna… Go and… go…" He passed by Kakuzu and slid out into the hall, running his hand along the wall. He felt like he was about to fall asleep any second. "I've got to get something to help wake me up," he thought to himself. He had to get his fog out of his mind so he could start thinking clearly again.

Kakuzu looked back at Konan. "I was just going to ask if there were any schematics for this place."

"Treasure hunting are we?" she asked annoyed. She was so close, too!

He turned away. "Have them or not? I'm a busy man."

"If there were any they would be in the basement. Go look down there."

He was off before she had a chance to blink.

She sighed and looked down at the pot of spiced stew. Maybe she didn't manage to put Itachi in a full trance, but this mission was still a success. She wanted to see if she could do it to him and she could. Since he was falling under her spell that meant that anyone would.

Now she had to decide who she should try next. Hopefully this person would go under completely and she could try a command out on him.

"Let's see…" she wondered. "Who should I see next?"

* * *

Who shall it be?

I do take requests if anyone has ideas. Maybe I'll pick it!

Please review! ^-^


	4. Deidara

**Chapter 4: Deidara **

Konan knew she had to be careful, even if Deidara was her new target. He may not be as big a challenge as Itachi, but she couldn't afford to get careless with him. She also had to keep in mind that he had trained one of his eyes to counter genjutsu. What if hypnosis was the same and he managed to counter it? She had to be careful.

She made her way to the end of the long hall and knocked on the wooden door where Deidara was working by himself in his newly claimed room. He made sure he got it before Sasori so he would have the largest room to himself for his unnamed tinkering. He claimed to be working on his artwork, which was possible, but who knew what else he was up to in there? Konan knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"What do you want?" he called. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Konan."

There was a pause. "Come in."

She opened the door and found him sitting on a stool at a long wooden table with his back turned towards the door. She stepped inside and closed the door. To make sure no one opened it again like last time, she made sure to lock it discreetly.

He kept working, ignoring her until she sat down beside him on a second stool. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to see what you were doing."

He was working the clay in his hand to a soft, mushy ball and then formed it into a small beetle. He gave it a satisfied look and set it aside. Konan looked at the mouth on Deidara's hand with a frown. She didn't find it gross, just strange. It licked the clay on the table and swallowed it up, chewing it and then spitting it out again. Smiling, Deidara worked the clay until it was soft and smooth. Then he began to mold it into the shape of a bird.

"They're lovely," she said.

For the first time since she had entered the room, he looked up at her. He looked happy and a little surprised by her comment. "Thanks." He looked back at the clay with a smile on his face.

"You have real talent."

Flattered, he began to boast. "Well, of course! I've been doing this for a long time, hn."

Her strategy was to flatter him and make him more likely to listen to her and let his guard down. After all, a swelled head made it much harder to be observant. Plus, it was a good way to put him at ease.

"Tell me," she said. "How did you get so good at this? You're a master of art."

He laughed and started to go on and on about things she wasn't paying any attention to. He continued to form the clay in his hands, mouths closing and fading into his palms. When he was finished, or stopped to take a breath, she spoke again.

"I love art myself. But all I can do is fold paper. Clay is different. It won't rip or tear." She picked up a wad of clay and started to work it over in her hand, making sure he saw her. "If you mess up, you can always start over. You can do more with it. Paper is so fragile."

He nodded, glancing at the clay she held in her hand. "That's true. But paper is lighter, hn. But you're right, it is fragile. It tears easily and it can burn and… it can…" He started to lose his train of thought, watching her play with the clay, rolling it and squishing it in her hand. He shook himself free and cleared his throat. "It's… uh… But it's a good medium, too. You can do a lot with it and stuff, hn."

She watched him watch the clay in her hand and smirked. This was coming along well. Now that she had his attention, she began to speak to him calmly and soothingly. "You like working with clay, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's… it's nice." His eyes stayed on the clay, watching it. She molded it and squished it and pulled it and flattened it. It made him feel strange. It was like watching a lava lamp. He couldn't look away.

"And Sasori… He likes art, too, doesn't he?"

"Hm… yeah."

"Wood, right? He works with that instead of clay."

He blinked slowly. "Yeah. Puppets, hn."

The clay moved rhythmically with her voice. As he watched, his eyes started to feel funny. Kind of heavy.

"Clay feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Mm-hm." He didn't want to talk anymore. When he spoke to her earlier, he spoke with such passion and energy that he had worn himself out. He suddenly remembered the clay in his hand. He squeezed it in his hand and felt the soft smooth form against his skin. He felt it squish between his fingers and relaxed. He felt like a child holding a stuffed animal. It gave him comfort. It put him at ease.

Konan continued to speak to him softly but he was barely paying any attention to her at all. His mind was wandering. "It feels warm in your hand. Doesn't it?"

"Mm." His eyes started to droop. They were getting heavy and warm. Very heavy.

The clay flattened in her hand and was then stretched and rolled into a ball. Her voice was like a lullaby. His shoulders began to slump. "It feels good, huh?"

"Hm…" He blinked. "Mmm…"

"It's so soft and smooth. But it must be hard to make it that way. You must be feeling pretty tired from working for so long. The muscles in your hand must be sore and tired, right?"

He slowly stopped playing with the clay, his hand suddenly heavy and tired. His fingers tingled with exhaustion. So did his brain. It was getting a warm fuzzy feeling behind his ears and spreading throughout the back of his head and to the front. His jaw grew slack. He was spacing out.

"You must be feeling very, very tired. So tired from all that hard work. You deserve a break, don't you think?"

"Mm…"

"Feel the muscles in your legs relax."

His feet began to tingle and the feeling spread up to his knees. He let his legs dangle.

"Feel the muscles in your back and hips relax. And up to your chest. And your shoulders. To your arms and to your hands."

He started to slump forward, his body feeling heavier and heavier. His whole body grew numb and heavy.

"Feel it in your neck and your head."

A shiver went up his spine and he gave a little shutter. Blinking, he started to pick himself up and tried to look away. He had no energy to do so. And he liked the feeling he was getting from doing so. He felt like he was slowly falling asleep.

"Feel your jaw relax. And your eyes. Feel your whole face relax."

He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed. His head started to bob and he opened his eyes again. Konan had gotten closer to him. He was staring right into her eyes.

"Look into my eyes and relax."

He stared.

"You're getting sleepier and sleepier. Deeper and deeper. More and more relaxed."

He said nothing and stared.

"Your eyes are getting heavier. And Heavier. And heavier."

His eyes drooped.

"You're getting sleepy. Very sleepy."

He stared at her eyes blankly.

"You're getting very, very sleepy. Sleepier and sleepier and sleepier."

Deidara blinked and moved closer to her, still staring into her eyes. "Pretty…" he slurred sleepily. "Pretty eyes…"

She moved closer to him as she noticed him slumping forward. "Relax. Relax." Deidara looked on the verge of passing out. She reached down and took his hand that was holding the clay. He didn't put up a fight. The ball of clay in his hand fell to the ground with a dull splat. She began to draw lazy circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. He relaxed further, enjoying the feeling. She was massaging his overworked hand. It felt good. "Relax."

His mouth hung open, staring into her eyes. The warmth of her hand massaging his brought him comfort and made him feel safe. Like nothing could hurt him. His eyes drooped a little more.

Now was the time to do it. "When I count backwards from ten, you will feel more and more relaxed. When I reach zero, you will be completely willing to do whatever I say."

He only stared.

"Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven…"

His eyes drooped.

"Six…"

She could feel the muscles in his body relax.

"Five… Four… Three…"

Deidara's eyes fluttered. His mouth closed for a moment, then opened again, drool appearing on his lips. His head bobbed.

"Two… One…"

His eyes drooped again, his head hanging forward.

"Zero."

His eyes clamped shut and he fell forward into her chest, out like a light. She looked down at him. He looked quite comfortable. She started to lift him up but he started to stir so she let him stay put, rubbing his back soothingly. He melted into her with a contented sigh. At least she knew it worked. Or did it? She managed to knock him out but could she command him?

"Deidara."

He didn't move.

She needed to test this. She would start out small just to test it and go from there. "Whenever I clap my hands and say 'sleep', you will fall back into this trance, even deeper than before. Whenever I say 'up and at 'em', you'll wake up from your trance with no memory of being hypnotized."

He only lay there, dozing on her chest. Now the moment of truth.

"Up and at 'em."

Deidara shifted and started to sit up. He looked around blearily and wiped the drool from his chin. "What…" He stifled a yawn. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, feigning innocence.

He looked around the room. "I… Did I fall asleep or something?"

"I don't know. You were zoning out. Am I really that boring?"

"Maybe, hn." He gave his head a shake. Spotting the clay on the floor, he bent down and picked it up, setting it down on the table. He scratched his cheek, looking over his clay figures.

"Deidara." She had to test it and see if it really worked. She gave her hands a single clap. "Sleep."

His head slammed into the table with a thunk and he started snoring.

It really did work. Now to see if she could command him. She had to test and make sure he wasn't faking it, either.

"Deidara, sit up and face me."

He picked himself off the table and swiveled around in his seat. He looked like a doll someone had tossed onto a chair. His shoulder were slumped and his head hung limply over his chest.

"Now…" She gave it some thought then gave him the command. "Whenever I touch your hand, you will hug me." That should be good enough. "Up and at 'em."

His head picked up and he looked around. "What?"

"What?"

He stared at her in confusion. "Did you say something just..? What were we talking about?"

"Nothing. Why?"

He had no memory of anything that had happened. She reached for a clay ball, deliberately touching his hand as she did so. The next thing either of them knew, Deidara and flung himself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"What are you doing?"

"I…" His eyes were wide with shock. "I don't know." He pried himself away and sat there, staring at her with huge eyes. "I… I didn't… I mean, I…"

She touched his other hand this time and he threw himself forward, wrapping his arms tightly around her body and nuzzled her neck. "Deidara..?"

"I don't know why I'm doing this!" He pulled himself away and backed up to the other side of the table. "What the hell's happening to me? What's going on?"

"I don't know. But you know what I think you should do?"

"No, what?"

She clapped her hands. "Sleep."

His panicked expression melted away to a look of peacefulness and he fell forward. Konan caught him and held him up in his seat.

"Now, Deidara. Here's what I want you to do." He drooled onto the collar of his jacket. "I want you to forget the last command I gave you. And I want you to forget that you ever hugged me."

He mumbled something and sat quietly in his seat, relaying on her to hold him up.

"Next, I want you to stand up."

He stood up on her command and waited for further instructions.

"Now open your eyes, while remaining in your trance."

His eyes opened and he stared straight ahead. His blue eyes were dull and lifeless, holding no emotion at all.

"Deidara, I want you to dance for me. Dance now."

Deidara spread his arms out like a pair of wings and spun to the center of the room and started to dance. It had a lot of spins and twirling. He stayed in one place for a while. Then, he conjured up an imaginary partner and started to waltz with them across the floor. Even though he was hypnotized, he had a lot of grace to his movements.

After a few minutes, Konan had enough and called him over. She told him to sit down and he did. "Now close your eyes." He closed them and let out a relaxed sigh. "Now this time when you wake up, you will feel really sleepy. You will feel so exhausted and drained of all energy. You will want nothing more than to sleep. You will sleep as long as you wish and when you wake up, you will feel very refreshed and happy."

That should do it. Maybe he would be more pleasant to be around after this.

"Up and at 'em."

Deidara opened his eyes and yawned loudly. He moaned tiredly and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

He looked up at her drowsily. "I…" His eyes drooped. "I'm really sleepy."

"Oh?"

He nodded and yawned again. "I'm so sleepy all of a sudden." He turned, looking at the wooden table. It looked rather inviting. He had no strength to carry himself all the way over to a bed. This would do just fine. He brushed the clay aside with his arm and started to make himself comfortable.

"You're going to sleep here?" she asked, surprised.

"Mm-hm." He made a nest with his arms and settled down with a sigh. "Too tired."

"Are you sure? There's a bed…"

Using his arms as a pillow, Deidara nestled his head down and let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "Night."

"Huh?"

"Night," he said again and started snoring.

_Guess he couldn't make it_. Konan shrugged and tiptoed out of the room and closed the door, leaving him alone to sleep.

Now she knew that it really did work. But she didn't feel like going after everyone so soon. They would be here for a week. Besides, she needed ideas. Maybe once she saw everyone together again she would have some idea what she should do to everyone then. Until that time, she walked down the hall to her own room to rest herself. All should be quiet for a while so she might as well enjoy it and think of ideas and a new target later.

* * *

This is going well so far. Who's next?


	5. Dinner

**Chapter 5: Dinner **

It was a full three hours before Deidara woke up. Despite finding himself on the table, he didn't question it. He merely assumed that he had fallen asleep while doing his work. He wiped the drool off his chin and sat up stretching. Throwing his arms high over his head, and stretching his legs out as far as they would go, Deidara stretched and turned his body from side to side. Then all at once, he let his limbs fall to his side and let out a huge sigh.

"Man, I feel great. I really needed that nap." He looked around to see what time it was. There wasn't a clock in this room. "What time is it? It's got to be close to dinner time or something."

His stomach growled softly. It was time for a snack. Deidara stretched out his legs and planted them on the floor, standing up and cracking his back. Rocking back and forth on his hips, Deidara gave his body a few more stretches before walking towards the door.

"Man, I really feel great!"

He did. He hadn't been in this good a mood in ages. He never felt so cheerful before. Feeling very happy, Deidara left the room and started toward the kitchen. He passed by Sasori in the hallway who was heading toward his own room at the far end of the hall. Deidara smiled and waved at him cheerfully.

"Hey, man. How's it going?"

Sasori stopped and did a double-take. "Are you… feeling alright?" he asked suspiciously.

"Sure am! I'm in a great mood, my man!" His partner was grinning from ear to ear. He had never seen him look so happy before. He was like a totally different person. "Heading for dinner?"

"I don't eat."

"Oh, yeah. Weird. Oh, well. See ya later!" Deidara turned around and half walked, half skipped down the hall.

Sasori watched him, finding the whole thing extremely strange. "What the hell's going on with him?" He looked at the stone and wooden walls, thinking. "Maybe there's mold in this place that's getting to his head or something…"

Reaching the kitchen, Deidara, opened the door and walked inside, beaming at everyone in the room. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

Kakuzu and Hidan were sitting at the table across from Zetsu, none of whom looked very happy.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" asked Hidan.

Deidara didn't wait for an answer and went right over to the fridge for something to eat. He frowned slightly seeing a near empty fridge. "What's this?" he asked. "This is all we have? Just some bread, water and carrots? That's it?"

"I'm not happy about it either," said Hidan. "It's all a bunch of crap. Looks like I'm starving tonight."

"It wouldn't kill you to eat your vegetables, you know," said Kakuzu.

"Ah, stuff it, you puss."

Zetsu pointed to the counter beside the fridge. "There's a melon there if you want."

Deidara smiled happily at the melon and went over to it, taking out a knife.

"Where did that come from, anyway?" asked the white half of Zetsu.

"I brought it," answered Hidan.

"You did?"

"Yup."

Kakuzu shot him a look. "What the hell do you mean you brought it?"

"There was a field, I saw it by the fence, no one was around, so I took it."

"So you stole a melon?"

"Yup."

"You? Who never eats anything but meat if you can help it? You of all people?"

"Yeah, you're point being?"

"Why the hell would you steal something you're not going to eat?"

"Hey, it didn't cost you anything so cram it!"

The door opened again and in came Itachi and Kisame, followed by Konan a moment later. Itachi wedged himself passed Zetsu and sat down at the table. "Is there anything to eat or is it every man for himself?"

"No one told us to bring anything, damn it!"

"Hidan, sit down."

"Make me!"

Deidara went over to the table and sat down at the head of the table, right between Hidan and Itachi. Despite being this close to the Sharingan user, Deidara didn't even flinch. He remained where he was, happily eating his melon slices. He glanced over at Itachi who was eyeing the plate. "Want some?" he offered.

Itachi said nothing and looked away. Kisame was sniffing a pot on the stove hungrily. "What's in this? Stew? Who made this?"

"I did," answered Konan. "It's not the best. It has a lot of spice in it."

"That's fine. Food is food." He took the whole pot over to the table, carrying a spoon in one hand.

That got Itachi thinking. There was something about that pot of stew that got the gears turning in his head. What was so odd about it? There was something familiar… That's right. Konan asked his opinion about the stew when she went to his room. After that… After that… He couldn't remember. It was as if he had spaced out during that time.

"It's not too bad," said Kisame, shoveling the stew into his mouth. "Gives it a kick."

"Don't hog it all, you bastard!" snapped Hidan. "Share it!"

"You wouldn't like it anyway!" Kisame held the pot at arm's length away from Hidan's greedy hands. "It has veggies in it!"

"The spice and stew itself will get rid of the flavor!"

"It's still veggies!"

"I'll eat around it, damn it! Hand it over! I'm starving!"

Kisame lifted the pot to his lips and began to drink it.

"Hey!"

The two began grabbing at the pot, pulling in different directions. Kakuzu got in on the battle when his hunger and attitude got the better of him. He was sick of the bickering right in front of him. He was no longer going to be in the middle of it. He started to pull the pot his way. Kisame gave the pot a mighty tug and it flew out of their hands and into Zetsu's face.

"Oh, crap."

Deidara watched the whole thing happen from his spot at the table, never lowering his own food from his mouth. This fight was a great show and this melon made a great snack.

The pot fell onto Zetsu's lap and he growled at the trio. "I hate you all," said the black half. With that, he stood up and walked out of the room.

All was quiet for a moment. Then Hidan got a look at the ripe melon in front of Deidara. "So… you sharing that or what?"

* * *

Please review!


	6. Zetsu

**Chapter 6: Zetsu **

Konan had a pretty good idea of who her next victim would be. She had to do something about Hidan's cursing. That was really taking a toll on her nerves. But she was sick and tired of Kakuzu putting holes in the walls, looking for money that may have been left behind by the pervious owners. It may have kept him busy, but the noise was getting on everyone's nerves. Which made Hidan's cursing that much worse. Deidara's mood had slowly evaporated. After being kept up half the night with Kakuzu's constant banging, he was back to yelling and slamming doors, ordering everyone to be quiet.

They were all good candidates, but she had to play this out just right. She couldn't afford any screw-ups. Maybe she should practice on someone else before she got to the rest of them.

As she walked into the kitchen for the second time that night to get something to eat, she found Zetsu sitting at the table, nursing a glass of water. Perfect. Zetsu already looked pretty tired. He should make a good practice victim.

She walked over to the table and sat down across from him. "Hello."

"Hi."

"Sorry there isn't more of a variety to eat around here." she said, making small talk.

"This is fine."

"Too bad we don't have people, right?" Zetsu couldn't tell if she was joking or not so he simply stared at her.

She noticed an empty cup on the table beside a jug of water. "Is someone else here, too?"

"No," answered the black half. "Those were two cups stuck together. I haven't gotten around to putting that one back yet."

"Ah. Then I'll join you if you don't mind."

"Go ahead," said the white half.

She reached over and poured herself a glass of water and took a drink. Now, how to hypnotize Zetsu? She had a couple of different ideas but wasn't sure how she would go about any of them or if they would work. She also wasn't sure if one side would get up under and there other would not. This may turn out to be a bigger challenge than she thought.

Still, she had to give it a shot. As she went to set the water down, she spilled some of it on the table. Not much, but it was enough to form a puddle. She quickly corrected the glass, making it look like it was an accident. "Oh. Sorry about that."

"I don't mind."

She looked at the water. Curious, Zetsu looked as well.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I was just looking at the shape reflected in the water." She traced a line over the surface of the water. She drew two lines, then two more, and more, making a star. She lifted up her hand, slowly, catching a water droplet on her finger. She held it up, watching it gather, form a bigger shape then drop onto the table, rejoining the puddle.

Zetsu was watching her closely. That was what she needed. She kept it up. Making lines in the water, then collecting water on her finger and letting them drop. She did this repeatedly. Rhythmically.

"This girl's weird," whispered the black half.

"Ah, come on. Let her have fun," said the white half. "It's kind of like watching a child in a way."

"Children are annoying."

Konan ignored them and continued what she was doing. The water made small splashes as she ran her fingers across the surface. She did this several times in five minutes. She was getting tired of doing it. She glanced up at Zetsu who was staring at her quietly. He seemed captivated by her movements. The sound of the water was tranquil.

As she held up a droplet on her finger this time, she looked at his yellow eyes. "Have you ever watched it rain, Zetsu?"

"I… yes. I have." He sounded tired.

"I like watching the rain. It's very relaxing."

Zetsu's head moved oddly, almost like a twitch. "I…" The black half looked upset. "I feel strange…"

"Strange?" she asked softly. "Are you in pain?"

"N… no…" He looked like he was falling asleep. "It's just… strange. It feels… kind of nice…"

Konan knew it was working. She just had to keep him from snapping out of it. She kept drawing lines in the water. This time she dipped her hand into her glass, soaking her fingers then held them up, letting multiple drops fall onto the small puddle. Zetsu's eyes looked dull and tired.

"Just relax. It's alright."

His eyes started to droop. Then he forced his eyes to open wide, waking himself up. He started to move his arms, acting as if he were about to leave. She couldn't let that happen. Not when she was so close. She reached out, touching the Venus fly-trap like extensions surrounding his head. He looked at her tiredly. It looked as if he were entering a trace but was fighting back. "I… I should…"

"Stay here. Relax."

His eyes were fluttering. He was trying to resist. "I…"

"It's alright. You're safe. We're just talking. It's alright."

He sat still in his seat, staring into her eyes. His eyes were twitching. He gave a quiet moan, trying to break free.

She pointed to his eyes and then to hers. "Look at me. Eyes on me." She drew a line from his eyes to hers, making sure he understood. He followed her hand's movement to and from her eyes, drawing him in. "Look into my eyes and relax." She wasn't about to lose him now that she was so very close.

Zetsu stared at her. Slowly his eyes softened. He was still fighting back. She sensed that it was the black half putting up most of the resistance. The white half had all but surrendered.

"Take a deep breath. Inhale slowly and let it out. Slowly now, slowly."

He did as he was told and seemed to relax further.

"It's alright. Everything's fine."

His defenses were falling slowly. She had to take care of that last bit of resistance. If she got him to submit to her and relax fully, she would have him under her full control.

"Shhh… you're safe. Everything is fine. Everything is just fine."

His eyes flickered with resistance. It was failing. "Ev… Every… thing…" His eyes fluttered. "Everything… is fine..?"

"Everything is perfectly fine. It's alright. Do you understand?"

His eyes fluttered again. As he stared into her eyes, he felt his own grow heavier and heavier. His body went numb. He felt so good. He let his eyes droop, letting his energy drain out of him and submitted. "Yes… Everything is perfectly fine…"

Konan hadn't seen this kind of response before. Maybe everyone did act differently. Aside from him resisting, he was actually pretty easy to hypnotize once he was under control. "Relax deeply. Go deeper and deeper. Relax."

He let out a contented sigh and relaxed, staring at her.

"Feel yourself getting sleepier and sleepier and sleepier. Relax. Deeper and deeper."

The plant-like extensions started to close. Was this how he fell asleep? Konan had no way of knowing if he would still be able to hear her if those things closed completely.

Zetsu's head started to lean forward, his eyes getting heavier. "… sleepy…" he mumbled and his eyes drooped even more.

Konan, seeing the plant extensions come closer together, climbed onto the table, kneeling in front of him. "You're getting sleepier and sleepier… Feel yourself relax even further… Sleepier and sleepier… You're falling into a very deep sleep…" She kept her eyes on those plant things slowly starting to encase his head. "You're eyes are getting heavier and heavier…"

"Mmm…" His head bobbed, unable to stay awake for much longer.

"When I count backward from ten, you will be completely under my control and be completely willing to do whatever I say. Understand?"

His head nodded up and down slowly. "… yes… ok…" He sounded like he was falling asleep. He sounded very far away.

"When I reach zero, you will fall into a deep sleep and do whatever I tell you." She looked at those plant extensions again. Keeping an eye on them, she counted. "Ten, nine, eight… feel yourself relax deeply… seven, six… you are very, very sleepy… five, four… you're eyes are so heavy…"

The plant-like extensions started to come closer together. She moved forward, raising her hand up.

"Three, two… one… zero."

Zetsu's eyes closed and so, too, did his extensions. But not before Konan reached forward and pried them open with her bare hands. They were surprisingly strong. Zetsu appeared to be asleep, but she wasn't sure how deep he was in with these clamps not fully closed.

"Sleep… Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep…" She looked down at Zetsu's face. He looked like he was peacefully asleep, resting comfortably. Using most of her strength to keep these things from closing, she had to be fast and give him her commands. "Ok, Zetsu… Whenever I and only I say 'night blossom', you will fall back into a deep trance where you will obey my every command and do whatever I say. Understood?"

He snored in his little cocoon-like bed, his head leaning up against one of the closing extensions. Then he nodded his head, continuing his sleep.

"Good, very good." She pried the extensions open, feeling them closing in on her with great force. She had to hurry up. "Ok, now whoever I and only I snap my fingers and say 'awake', you will awaken from your trance with no memory of what happened during that time. Understand?"

Again he nodded.

"Excellent." She pushed against the green clamps. They were only four inches away from closing. "Now, when you wake up from this trace… You will be extremely loyal to me and side with me whenever I have an opinion on something. You will take my side no matter what the others say. Also, whenever you hear Hidan curse, you will…" She forced the clamps opened, feeling them start to close again. "You will spit in his face. Got it?"

He nodded. "Yes…"

"Alright, good. Now, I want you to sleep and wake up in the morning, remembering nothing of me walking into this room with you during the night. Ok?"

He nodded again.

She released her hold on his extensions and they clamped shut around his head, sealing him away. She sat back with a sigh. That went fairly well. She just had to see how he was in the morning.

As she went back to her room, she couldn't help but notice that Itachi was awake at this hour as well, walking toward the kitchen. As she passed him, she looked up at him, trying to act innocent as much as possible. "Itachi, where are you going?"

"Getting a drink."

"Ok, just be careful. Zetsu's sleeping in there. He'll be really cranky if you wake him up. Fair warning." She returned on her way back to her room. This way Itachi won't find it too strange if he finds Zetsu in there and he wouldn't try to wake him.

At least, that's what she had hoped. Itachi continued on his way, having a very strange feeling as he passed her by. Something just didn't feel right.

* * *

Review please! ^-^


	7. Commands

**Chapter 7: Commands **

The next morning, Konan went to the kitchen wondering what had become of Zetsu. She hoped he wasn't still in a trance and had woken up by this time. She wondered what he would be like now. She wondered if the commands she gave him last night worked.

As she opened the door to the kitchen, she found most of the Akatsuki members sitting around the table. One of those members was Zetsu. He was sitting in the same place he was last night. Had he moved at all from last night?

Looking around, she noticed that Deidara and Kakuzu were having an argument near the door. It seemed that Deidara was preventing Kakuzu from leaving.

"I couldn't sleep last night with you pounding outside my door! Enough already!"

"If the previous owners left behind money, I want it. It's no use to them now. I can benefit from it."

"Let it go, man! You're not going to find buried treasure, alright?!"

"What is going on?" Konan asked, seeing the two standing toe to toe with each other, ready to fight.

"He's being an idiot!" they both said at once.

"Just calm down, alright?" she told them. "I have to say that Deidara's right. You can't keep putting holes through the walls in the middle of the night when people are trying to sleep."

"Then I'll do it right now," Kakuzu answered.

"How about you don't do it at all? That would be much better."

During the whole argument, Zetsu couldn't take his eyes off Konan. For some odd reason, he had grown rather fond of her. She seemed so perfect to him. Everything about her was incredible. She was the perfect ninja. Seeing her putting Kakuzu in his place was like watching a lion tamer in action.

"Just get out of my way," said Kakuzu, making a move towards the door.

"Don't put holes in anymore walls! If there is any money hidden around here, it would be under a trap door or something. There's no need to break anything else!"

"Sorry. I'm sorry, but…" He held a hand to his ear. "Do you hear anyone backing you up on this? No. I don't think so. Which means, stuff it!"

Konan looked over at Zetsu who was still staring at her with curious eyes. "Zetsu. You think I'm right, don't you?"

He agreed completely. She couldn't be wrong. No way. She was perfect. If she believed in something this strongly, he had to back her up on it. He couldn't bear it if she were wrong and disappointed. He didn't want her to be upset. He had to side with her no matter what. "Yes, of course. You're right. Completely right."

"Huh?" Kakuzu turned around. "You think she's right?"

"Of course, I do. You can't keep putting holes in walls. This whole place could cave in on us. You need to knock it off."

Good. The command she gave him worked. He was going to take her side no matter what.

Kakuzu huffed, looking from him to Konan to the floor. Then growling, he shoved everyone out of his way and went out the door, in a very fowl mood.

Hidan laughed. "Looks like the poor bastard's upset. What a puss."

Suddenly, Zetsu spat in Hidan's face. The other command she had given to him worked like a charm.

Hidan stood up, wiping it off his jaw. "Holy crap! What the freaking hell is wrong with you?!"

He spat again.

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?" asked the white half.

"Spitting at me like a Jashin damn bitch! That's what!"

This time when he spat at Hidan, it went right into his open mouth. This only made him curse far worse than before.

"Better stop cursing or he won't stop spitting," Konan said, leaving the room.

Itachi, who had been watching everything from the head of the table, frowned. How would she know what was triggering Zetsu's sudden unexplainable spitting? And it was focused on Hidan only. She must have had something to do with it.

* * *

Konan stood in the middle of the foyer wondering where Kakuzu had gone to. She had already decided that he would make a good next victim. She had to stop him from putting more holes in the walls before he hit a support beam and brought the house and half the hill down on top of them. Her first thought was to follow the bangs, but he apparently wasn't doing anything yet. Everything was quiet.

"Hey!"

She turned around, seeing Deidara running up behind her. "Yes?"

He stopped, standing within arm's length of her. "I wanted to talk to you." Putting a hand on his hip, he used the other to wave in the direction of the kitchen. "You think we could get some decent food around here? There's nothing to eat and I'm starving, hn."

"You're free to eat what we have in there."

"I'm not a rabbit, hn!" he snapped. "I can't live off carrots. Get something good around here, woman! I would myself if you and the leader weren't so keen on keeping us all cooped up inside this place for a week. Low profile my ass. This is imprisonment, hn."

She had to shut him up somehow. "Deidara…" She clapped her hands together. "Sleep."

She watched Deidara's eyes become cloudy and droop. He started to fall forward and she caught him. His body was completely limp. It was up to her to hold him up and keep him from falling. He lay quietly in her arms, using her shoulder as a pillow.

She started to rub his back rhythmically, feeling him relax fully at her touch. "Now, Deidara…" Was there something she could make him do? She hadn't thought of a command yet, so she came up with one off the top of her head. "I want you to answer my questions truthfully. Do you know where Kakuzu went to?"

He shifted slightly. "I didn't see…" he mumbled sleepily. "But… he was talking about… getting tools… from below the house…"

No doubt his ninja tools wouldn't be enough. He was looking for something used in excavations. "But you said below the house?"

He nodded. "Yes…"

"Alright. Thank you. Up and at 'em."

His eyes started to open and she lifted him up off her body. He looked around confused. "What happened?"

"You tripped and fell into me."

"Oh…" He gave his head a shake. "What… What were we talking about again?"

"It was nothing important. I have some business to do right now. Excuse me." She left Deidara standing by himself in the foyer and went down the hall which led to the lower level of the structure.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching them from around the corner. His dark Akatsuki cloak and dark hair allowed him to blend in very well to the wall. Itachi's red eyes peered around the corner at Deidara and narrowed.

"I knew something was up."

* * *

8O

Now what's gonna happen?!

Review please! ^-^


	8. Discovery

**Chapter 8: Discovery **

Itachi stood behind the wall, thinking about what he had just witnessed. He had never seen Konan display that kind of power before. It must have either been new or a well-kept secret. Either way, she had power over Deidara. What he had to find out now was if the power applied to only her or if anyone else could do it, too. It was his turn to test something.

Coming out of his hiding place, Itachi stepped up behind Deidara. He had listened to their entire conversation. There was a trigger to get him into that compliant state. It must have been that single word she had spoken before the blond went silent for a while. "Deidara."

He turned around. Once he saw Itachi, he growled. "Oh, what do you want, hn?"

"Still hate me, do you?"

He faced away with an angry huff. "That's none of your business, hn. Just say what you want and be done with it. I've got things to do, hn."

No one else was around. This was the perfect chance to test it. "Sleep."

Deidara looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "What?"

That was the trigger, wasn't it? What was he missing? Maybe he didn't do it right. He tried to remember every detail of their conversation. After she said that word… No, wait. She made a noise before that happened. She clapped her hands a single time and said the word. Then Deidara went silent. He must have been missing the clap.

Itachi tried again. He gave his hands a single clap. "Sleep."

Deidara's hard eyes softened and he started to fall over. Itachi grabbed his arm before he fell and held him off the ground. It didn't look very comfortable, but Deidara appeared to be sleeping rather deeply. Itachi pulled him up and held him in his arms, Deidara's body as limp as a rag doll.

The trigger worked after all. Now he had control over his fellow Akatsuki member. Itachi already knew what to do. He had wanted to do this for some time.

"Deidara, listen carefully to what I tell you. Do exactly as I say."

He nodded against Itachi's chest, having no idea what was happening around him. He didn't realize that this was the man he hated so very much holding him so close to his beating heart. As long as he was in this trance, he would accept any order given to him, no matter who it was. He was indifferent to whoever his master was or what they wanted.

"That annoying nasal grunt you make… that 'hn' sound… Whenever you make that sound, you will hit yourself over the head with whatever you have on hand. Got it?"

He nodded slowly.

"Good." Now how to wake him up. There must have been a trigger for that as well. Thinking, he thought he had come up with it. "Up and at 'em."

Deidara's eyes opened slowly. "Wha..?" He felt someone's arms around his shoulders and looked up. Itachi was cradling him in his arms. Now back to his senses, Deidara pushed against Itachi with both arms and jumped back. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Why were you holding me like that?"

"It's fine," he said quietly and turned away. "Don't worry about it."

Deidara yelled at him as he started to leave but Itachi wasn't listening. He couldn't wait to see if his command had taken effect.

There was something else he was curious about. Zetsu had been acting strange lately as well. Perhaps he was also under Konan's power. How many others were victims of that woman's strange power? As Itachi went back to his room, he knew he had a lot to think about. There was much to discover.

* * *

Oh, God... Itachi...

I love your ideas XD

Please review! ^-^


	9. Kakuzu

**Chapter 9: Kakuzu **

Konan spotted Kakuzu in the basement with a pickax in his hands, preparing to strike the wall in front of him. "What are you doing?" she snapped at him.

He stopped mid-strike and turned around. "Oh, hey. I think I found a hollow spot right here. It might be a safe of some sort. A secret door."

"For crying out loud, would you stop it?" Konan reached up and grabbed the handle of the pickax with one hand, holding him back. "No more putting holes in walls. Do you want this whole place to come crashing down and bury us all?"

"I'd rather be dead and rich than just dead." He shrugged her off and moved in to try it again.

"Could I just have a few minutes of your time? I want to talk to you."

"It can wait. I'm busy."

"Now."

"You're not my boss, woman."

Konan pulled something out of her coat. "I'll give you 500 yen."

He turned around and snatched the coin away. "You've got five minutes."

Sighing in relief, Konan took him into a room where they could have some privacy. Kakuzu rested his pickax against the side of a couch in the middle of the room and sat down. Konan sat across from him in a wooden chair. There was a dusty coffee table between them. This should do nicely.

"So," said Kakuzu. "What do you want?"

Konan leaned forward in her chair. "I just wanted to talk."

He scoffed, sitting back in his seat, unwilling to listen. "Let's get this over with. I told you I'd give you five minutes."

Konan reached into her pocket and took out another coin. Kakuzu leaned forward, suddenly very interested. "I'll give you this when I'm finished speaking with you, alright?"

Kakuzu stared hungrily at the coin in her fingers. Moaning, he sat there and gestured for her to speak. He wanted that coin. Money was money.

"You are so obsessed with money. You're even wiling to demolish walls just to get it."

"It all spends the same," he explained. "The world can't function without money."

"Perhaps…" She started to roll the coin between her fingers, making sure he saw her do so. His eyes never left the coin. This was the perfect tool to keep his attention. He always noticed money, no matter how small it may be. He wouldn't take his eyes off it. "Hidan informed us that you two were late because you were after some money."

"No one was using it and it was no good to anyone sitting there between the roots. I might as well take it."

"A coin?"

"I'm ricer than I was with it in my pocket. Now I have more money. Surely you can understand that…" He watched the coin rotate slowly between her fingers. He was starting to feel strange. He couldn't figure out what it was. It just felt strange. She kept talking, but he wasn't paying much attention to her anymore. He was too busy watching the coin.

"Right, Kakuzu?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her but only for a split second. In no time at all, he was right back watching the coin.

"I asked if you understood."

"Oh. Yeah, yeah. I get it. Uh-huh." He hadn't heard the question or statement she had asked, nor did he care. He just stared at the coin. It continued to roll between her fingers, back and forth. Minutes ticked by and he did not take his eyes off the coin. That strange feeling was getting stronger now. His body was starting to feel warm and started to tingle. He watched her lower the coin to the table and set it down on its side. She spun it with her fingers and Kakuzu watched it spin around on the table, leaving afterimages as it twirled.

"It's nice, isn't it? Money."

He nodded. "Yeah…"

"Shiny coins… paper bills… that weight must feel good in your wallet, am I right?"

He nodded again, his mind beginning to fog. "Uh-huh…"

"It must be weighing you down right now. Isn't it? All that money pulling you down… lower and lower…"

Kakuzu's body started to grow heavier, weighted down. He started to slump.

"But it feels good, doesn't it?"

It did feel good now that she mentioned it. Like having a heavy blanket on his body on a cold winter's night. It felt nice. Her voice sounded nice. He had no idea Konan's voice could sound like that. Almost lyrical.

"You… have a beautiful voice… Konan…"

"Thank you." She spun the coin again. He watched it spin, then wobble and fall to the table. Then she would pick it up and spin it again. And again. And again. She watched his eyes closely. They started to get cloudy and droop. He was starting to go under. Now was her chance. "Heavier and heavier… and your eyes… they're weighing you down, too. They're getting heavier and heavier…"

His eyes drooped. His head began to bob.

"You're getting sleepier… and sleepier…"

Kakuzu's eyes looked different from normal. He was indeed falling into a trance. His head was nodding up and down, still watching the coin spin on the table. She reached over and picked up the coin. He blinked, his focus suddenly broken. Before he could come back to his senses, she performed a little sleight-of-hand and held the coin suspended in the air between her eyes. Kakuzu looked at the coin held up by what looked like chakra strings. She started to spin the coin in front of his face, string held in her fingertips. It functioned like a pendulum and captivated him instantly. He leaned forward, staring intently at the coin.

"You're eyes are getting heavier… you're getting sleepier and sleepier… you're falling into a deep sleep… a very deep sleep…"

He looked like a zombie, staring at the coin, his eyes foggy and far, far away.

"When I count down to zero, you will fall into a deep trance and be completely willing to do as I say." All he did was stare. She kept her voice low and gentle. "Five… four… three… two… one… zero."

Kakuzu's head suddenly fell forward and he slumped forward. He was out like a light.

Konan lowered the coin and put it back in her pocket. "Relax deeper… go deeper… and deeper. You are feeling deeply relaxed… Sleep… sleep… sleep…"

He remained where he was, making no movement or sound. It was impossible for her to know if he was really under or not. She had to test it and see if he was possibly faking or if this trance wasn't strong enough.

"Kakuzu… that 500 yen coin I gave you… give it back to me… now."

He didn't move at first. Then he suddenly reached into his pocket, took out the coin and held it out for her to take. It worked. There was no way he would ever willingly give money back to anyone. He was all hers. He was completely under her full control.

She took the coin back and tucked it away. "Alright. Whenever I say and only I say 'rainy day' you will become completely willing to do everything I tell you to. You will want to do anything I tell you. It will make you feel happy to please me. And whenever I say the phrase 'baton pass' you will fall back into this trance. Whenever I say 'sunny days' you will awaken from this trance, and remember nothing of being hypnotized. Understand?"

He nodded his head slowly. She smiled. This was going very well.

"Now… about you're little money obsession."

* * *

Someone had to do it. Money leads to nothing good... save for an annoyed nin-chick finally doing something about it by messing with your head.

Please review ^-^


	10. Stop Hitting Yourself

**Chapter 10: Stop Hitting Yourself**

The door opened and Kakuzu stepped out into the hall, followed by Konan. "I'm glad we got to talk," he told her. Since the lower half of his face was covered, she couldn't tell if he was smiling or not but it sounded as if he were. "We did have a nice talk, right?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"Oh, good." He rubbed the back of his head. "'Cause I really don't remember a lot of it. Sorry. I guess I spaced out a few times."

"Think nothing of it," she told him. He was so much more polite now. It was actually a pleasure to be around him. She knew she had made the right choice do change him a little while he was still under. He was so much more tolerable. "Well, that's all I needed from you. You can go back to doing whatever you want now."

"Oh, sure." He blinked. "What was I doing again?"

"You were looking for money in the walls."

"Oh." He stood very still.

"Aren't you going to look for that money again?" she asked, already knowing his answer.

"You know…" he said slowly. "I don't really want to do that anymore. I don't feel like it. It doesn't matter to me anymore for some reason."

"Oh. Alright." She turned away, smiling into her raised collar. This was working perfectly. He no longer had an obsession with money. Now they could all sleep at night not having to worry that he was going to bury them alive in his relentless search for hidden money. "I'm going upstairs to get something to eat. Coming?"

"Oh, sure. Why not?"

They walked up to the first level and into the kitchen together. Kakuzu held the door open for her. She smiled again. She wasn't used to such chivalry, but it was a welcomed change from the Kakuzu she knew before. As soon as she entered the room, she noticed everyone sitting around the table looking miserable.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"What do you think?" said Hidan. "There's not a damn thing to eat around here." He held up his empty plate, blocking Zetsu's spit wad heading toward his face. "And he won't stop that!"

Sasori was also in the kitchen, surprisingly enough. He was sitting on the counter beside Kisame. Itachi was sitting at the table, munching on a carrot, not speaking to anyone. Deidara sat across from Hidan and next to Zetsu. Glaring at Itachi. The Uchiha never looked up which seemed to infuriate Deidara further. Finally, he slammed his hand on the table and shouted at him. "What?!"

Itachi finally looked up. "What?"

"You're mocking me! I know it!"

"I'm just eating a carrot. It has nothing to do with you." He pointed to the fridge. "You're welcome to help yourself if you're hungry."

"Of course I'm hungry! But there's nothing to eat and I'm sure as hell not going to eat what you're eating." He turned away angrily. "Would it kill you people to get some decent food around here, hn?"

Deidara suddenly grabbed one of Itachi's carrots and struck himself as hard as he could with it, breaking the carrot in half. Everyone stared at him.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Hidan asked. Zetsu spat in his face. "Knock that off, damn you!" He spat again. "Stop it!"

Deidara looked at the carrot in his hand, confused. He didn't even remember grabbing it. It was a reflex, it seemed. He looked at Itachi who was staring at him without a word. "You got something to say to me?" He said nothing. "Stop mocking me, hn!"

He picked up the water jug and hit himself over the head with it, soaking his torso with cold water. He dropped the jug and gasped, the cold water stinging his body. Blinking in stunned surprise, Deidara looked down at this soak body.

"Why did you do that?" asked Sasori from the counter.

"How the hell should I know?!" he snapped. He started to wring out his clothes right there. Everyone listened to the sound of water dripping onto the floor as he wrung himself out. "I didn't mean to do it…"

"Then why did you?"

"I don't know, hn!" He picked up the empty jug and hit himself over the head with it again. "Ow! It's like I have no control over my body!" He suddenly looked over at Sasori. "Stop it, Sasori! I know it's you!"

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're the puppet master here. You must be doing something to me."

"Well, I'm not."

"Well, I sure as hell ain't doing this willingly, hn." He hit himself with the jug again. "Ow! Damn it!"

Konan stared at Deidara in surprise. She hadn't given him any commands to do this. But it did look like a post hypnotic suggestion. She then looked at everyone in the room. Everyone was either staring at Deidara, laughing, talking to each other or… in Itachi's case, smirking to himself as he ate his carrot, keeping his eyes down.

So it was him. But how? She had to question him somehow.

She started to leave the room. Before she did, she looked over at Zetsu and motioned for him to follow. He did so happily.

Once far away from the kitchen, she turned to the man walking closely behind her. "I have something to ask of you, Zetsu."

"Yes?" he asked eagerly.

"I'm so sick of the complaints over the lack of food. I was hoping you could run an errand for me and pick up some food they'll eat."

"Sure thing!" he said happily. He was so excited. He wanted to please her. Doing this would surely make her happy. "What do you need?"

"Just get enough food for us to last the week. You're a good spy. I'm sure you know what people like. Oh, and be sure to get some fish, too, please."

"Sure thing! I'll go right now."

"Thank you. Hurry back."

He beamed at her and started to sink into the wooden floorboards and disappeared.

Now that that was taken care off, all she needed to do was figure out what happened with her first successful victim. She knew something went on between him and Itachi.

As she turned to go back into the kitchen to confront him, the door flew open and Deidara came running out screaming at the top of his lungs. He ran straight for his room down the first hall, a large bump on the top of his skull. "Why can't I stop?!"

Itachi came out of the kitchen next wearing a satisfied smile on his face. Konan grabbed his sleeve and pulled him over to where she was standing. "Yes?" he asked innocently.

"You did this. I know you did," she told him.

He pulled his sleeve out of her grasp. "You did it first. I merely figured out the trigger."

She stopped and stared at him. "You… discovered the trigger? How?"

He motioned to the wall. "I was hiding there when you used it on him the last time. I was eavesdropping. When you left, I tried it on him myself."

"Oh." She had to be more careful now that she knew people were lurking in the shadows. After all, this was a building filled with ninja. She should have seen this coming. As a ninja herself, she had to be more vigilant.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anyone."

She looked up at him. He looked serious. Of course, it was hard to read that poker face he always carried.

"This could be fun," he added. "There are plenty of things around here I would like to see changed. I say we take advantage of this and have some fun."

"You'd really want to?" she asked, surprised.

"Why not? Might as well since we're all stuck here for the next week." Then he turned to her. "But first… I have a couple questions for you. I'd like for you to answer them."

"Ok."

"This power you have… is it a new form of genjutsu? What is it?"

She touched the scroll she held in her jacket. "It's hypnosis."

"Oh?" He looked skeptical. "That really works?"

"You can see for yourself that it does."

"I see." He moved on to his next question. "How did you obtain it? I've never seen you use it before."

"I acquired it from an old woman a few days ago. It was carried in a scroll. She said that it was only a one-time deal. Whoever opens the scroll will gain the power for one week. Then it's gone. I opened the scroll. And since it only works once, it's just a useless scroll now. No one can use it."

"Ah." He seemed to take her word for it. "Just one more thing I want to ask."

"Yes?"

He didn't move. His voice did not change. But what he asked made her flinch. "Did you use that power on me?"

She swallowed.

"Well? Did you?"

She answered truthfully. "Yes, I did. But it failed."

"It failed?" he said slowly. "How? Am I unable to be hypnotized?"

"No, it's not that. You started to go under, then the door banged open and you snapped out of it before you were under completely."

"So you did nothing to me?"

"No, nothing."

Itachi stared at her, as if looking to see if she was lying. Then he nodded. "I see. Alright, then." He didn't seem angry at all. "What would you have done to me if it worked?"

She shrugged. "To be honest, I wasn't sure it would work at all. I knew if I tested it on someone with some skill in the department and someone who wasn't a complete idiot that it would work on anyone. I just did it to you first to see if it would work. I hadn't planned on doing anything, really."

"Ok." He seemed pleased with this answer. It was the truth, after all. "Just so I know, how many others have you gotten to so far with this ability?"

"I've done this to Deidara, as you know. Also, Zetsu and Kakuzu."

"No one else?"

"Aside from you and failing at that, no. I haven't gotten to anyone else yet. I planned on doing it to Hidan to get him to stop his constant cursing. Why?"

"Just curious. I wanted to join you. Put in a few requests myself, if you don't mind."

"Blackmail, huh?" she said. "In other words, if I don't, you'll tell everyone, right?"

He shrugged. "I hadn't thought of that but I could…"

She sighed. "I would have let you join me even without a threat."

"I never threatened."

"Either way, you're welcome to join me if you want."

"Good." He seemed happy about the idea. "If you don't mind… I have a request."

* * *

What could it be?

Please review! ^-^


	11. Kisame

**Chapter 11: Kisame **

Now that things had cooled down a bit, Kisame took this opportunity to find something to eat. There was very little to his liking and nothing he could make a meal out of. He started to opened cupboards and look inside. He managed to find some bread, but it was moldy. Rolling his eyes, he closed the wooden doors and looked down. Someone was standing beside him.

"What do you want?"

Itachi pushed Konan forward. "She wants a word with you for a minute. Privately."

"Is that right?" Kisame looked own at the woman. "Ok, I've got time to kill. What's up?"

Itachi took his hands off her shoulders. "I'll be outside. Let me know when you're down." He turned and walked out the door.

The plan was for her to put him under while Itachi watched the door to make sure no one disturbed them. Itachi stood outside the kitchen and waited, trying not to listen to what was happening inside. He didn't want to go under as well. He wasn't waiting any longer than five minutes when Konan opened the door and gestured for him to come inside.

Itachi walked back into the kitchen and looked at his partner. Kisame was standing exactly where he had left him, only his eyes were closed and he was slumped forward. "That's all it took?" he asked in a whisper. "That didn't take very long at all."

"He was very easy to put under," Konan told him. She led Itachi over to Kisame and looked up at his blue shark face. "So now what? I have him under. What did you want to do to him?"

Itachi did give it a lot of thought. He seemed to know exactly what he wanted to do to his partner. "Can you make him afraid of swords and knives?"

Konan stared at him. Itachi wasn't kidding. He meant it. She nodded and turned to Kisame. "When you awaken from this trance, you will be extremely afraid of swords and knives. Understand?"

He nodded slowly, his large body swaying slightly.

She looked back at Itachi who seemed to be smirking. "Anything else?"

This time he took his time in coming up with something. "You have a phrase to get him back into this state, don't you?"

"Yes."

"What's the phrase?"

"Waterfall."

"Doesn't that seem too easy?"

She shrugged.

Itachi waved his hand. "It doesn't matter. Keep it." He looked up at his partner again. "How about… every time someone says 'shark skin' he'll instantly forget what he's saying and doing as well as anything happening around him? And he'll get very mellow. Can we do that?"

Konan nodded and gave Kisame the command. The shark man nodded his head, accepting the commands given to him. Konan looked back at Itachi.

"I'm good for now. You can wake him up."

Konan turned back to Kisame and snapped her fingers. "Awake!"

Kisame's head jerked up and he looked around the room. "Wait, what did you say just now?"

"I didn't say anything," she told him.

"Oh." Kisame rubbed his head. "I thought… never mind. Never mind."

Itachi moved closer to Kisame, looking him in the eyes.

"What?" he asked, looking down.

"Nothing." He wanted to test it. "I just thought that what Hidan said was true. You know, about you making out with Konan when we weren't looking."

"What?!" Kisame roared. "How the hell could he say that?! I'll kill that rotten little-"

"Shark skin."

Kisame blinked, his rage suddenly gone. He stared straight ahead, frowning.

"Something wrong?"

"I… Uh…" He looked down at Itachi. "What was I doing just now?"

"Getting a glass of water, I think."

"Oh, yeah… That's right…" Kisame still looked as if he were in a daze, but Itachi saw this as good news. It meant that the commands worked.

Itachi motioned for Konan to follow him and the two left the kitchen. "That was easy."

"Yes, it was," said Konan. "He went under very quickly."

Itachi stood where he was, causing Konan to almost bump into him from behind. He was looking down.

"Itachi?"

He lifted his head but didn't turn around. After a moment, he turned his head giving her a sideways glance. "Konan…"

"Yes?" Itachi was behaving strangely. "What's wrong?"

He turned his body, now facing her. "I…" He swallowed. "I wanted to…"

Something rose out of the floor between them and both jumped back. Zetsu had returned, his jacket bulging with evidence of a successful shopping trip. "Look!" he said proudly at Konan. He held up a wicker basket in his left arm, showing off over a dozen fish, some of which were still flopping around. "Did I do good or what?"

She gave him a smile, showing him that she was pleased. "Thank you. You can put that in the kitchen. Looks like we have our dinner."

Holding back giggles of joy, Zetsu made for the kitchen, doing as he was told.

Itachi looked at Konan after he had left. "What exactly did you do to him? Make him happy all the time or something?"

"I made him very loyal to me and told him that he would be very happy to do anything I asked of him."

"No kidding." Itachi looked towards the kitchen, hearing voices and clattering from behind the wooden door.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?" He looked back.

"Weren't you about to say something to me before he showed up?"

"Oh. Yeah, I…" Itachi broke off, looking down. "You know… it's nothing. Never mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It can wait."

Itachi was acting very odd. Konan wanted to find out what was causing this but decided that it could wait. He would tell her when the time came.

* * *

Dinner that evening was by far the oddest one Konan had ever sat through.

If it wasn't Zetsu spitting at Hidan every five seconds, or Kakuzu being polite and shy at the table, no longer caring about any sort of profit, it was Kisame's strange behavior while eating his dinner. He was staring at the knife resting beside Hidan's plate which wasn't that far from his. Hidan wasn't using it at the moment. He seemed to enjoy eating his food with his bare hands. His nervous behavior didn't go unnoticed by Sasori who had nothing to do but people watch as everyone else ate.

"What's with you?" he asked.

Kisame kept staring at the knife as if it were about to spring to life and attack him at any second. "N- nothing… I'm fine…" He slowly reached down to pick up his piece of fish on his plate. The second his fingers touched the tail, Hidan suddenly slammed his hand down on the tabletop as Zetsu spat at him again, making the silverware, which included the knife, jump. Kisame jumped, dropping the fish and recoiling. "Don't do that!"

"Don't do what?" Hidan asked bitterly.

"That!" Kisame said again, a slight whine in his voice. "J- just don't move, ok?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zetsu spat again. Hidan blocked with his plate. "Try again, you pussy!" As he slammed his plate back down, he caused the silverware to jump again, causing Kisame to flinch and back away toward Itachi. Itachi didn't mind. He knew this was bound to happen. Seeing Kisame act like this was pretty funny. No one would know this on account of Itachi never showing the slightest sound of pleasure, unless a smirk counted. But even that wasn't seen because of his high collar.

Hidan struck the table again, making the knife lurch forward. Kisame pressed his body tightly up against Itachi who was sitting next to him at the table. Without looking up, Itachi whispered, "Shark skin." At once Kisame's stiff body melted and he looked down at the table, unable to remember what he was doing moments ago. His fear was long forgotten.

A second later, Hidan picked up his knife to cut his meat. This time when Zetsu spat at him, he waved the knife in the air, bringing it close to Kisame's face, causing him to give a high-pitched scream. Everyone looked at him.

"You scream like a girl!" remarked Sasori.

Hidan started laughing. "You scream like a damn little girl! You're such a little bitch!" A spit wad hit him just above his left eyes. "You wanna die?! Is that it?!" he screamed at Zetsu, who was still unaware that he was doing anything out of the ordinary.

"Just stop waving that in my face!" Kisame cried. "You'll take my eye out!"

"Big freaking deal!"

Kisame clung to Itachi as the knife was waved again. "St- stop it! Please!"

"Shark skin."

Kisame looked down, suddenly aware that he was holding his partner. "Um… why am I hugging you?"

"Don't know. But whatever you do, don't look up."

"Why not?" Kisame looked up and saw the knife. "Ahh! Get that thing away from me!"

"Shark skin."

"What was I saying again..?"

"You're such a puss. Damn it! Stop spitting at me!"

Konan sighed. She didn't know if she could handle one week of this. She ducked as a plate was thrown her way. Hidan was climbing on top of the table, trying to get to Zetsu. Deidara grabbed his own plate and held it off to the side, yelling for everyone to stop so that he could eat in peace. Kisame clung to Itachi again as a knife flew through the air and landed point down in the center of the table. Another knife became airborne and landed in Sasori's knee, which he paid little attention to. Zetsu kept spitting and Kakuzu just sat there, not caring about anything that was happening around him.

Perhaps tomorrow she would see if she could tamper with someone else's mind and finally get a little peace around here. Or at the very least, order someone to go into a coma.

The table suddenly flipped over as Hidan made a desperate grab for Zetsu. The food went onto the floor and people's laps and Hidan pulled Zetsu onto the ground with him and started to punch his half-moon face as many times as he could. Deidara managed to keep ahold of his plate and ate as fast as he could before that, too, went onto the floor. Itachi managed to stand off to the side and avoid most of the mess as Kisame ran out the door, screaming about how one of the knives almost touched him. Sasori just sat there watching them and Kakuzu kept eating, indifferent to everything around him. The only plus side of this that Konan could find was the likely idea of them all sleeping well tonight.

* * *

Please Review! ^-^


	12. Hidan

**Chapter 12: Hidan **

The next morning, Kisame was having a great deal of trouble completing one of his usual chores. Though he carried it with him all the time, for some reason, he was having a great deal of trouble going anywhere near his sword. For some reason, the very idea of it was terrifying him. He couldn't bring himself to go anywhere near it. For the life of him, he couldn't do it.

He stood staring at his sword, propped against the wall across from his bed. "Ok, Kisame," he told himself. "You can do this. It's your weapon after all. You've never had a problem before, right? You can do this. You can…"

He drew nearer to his sword then froze. It was as if someone had put up a barrier between him and his weapon. He stared at his weapon and started shaking.

"I can… I can't do this!"

He backed away, turning his back on his sword. After taking in several deep breaths, he forced himself to turn around. He started to move towards his weapon again. The moment he saw it, he began to shake again. Gulping, he slowly lowered himself to his knees as if creeping up on an animal. He started to crawl across the room toward his sword. He reached out. He was two feet away. He moved closer, shutting his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw that he was now a foot away. Ten inches, nine inches. He bit his lip. Seven inches. Six. Ten. Two feet. A yard.

Kisame sprang to his feet and bolted out the door, narrowly missing Hidan on his way out. "Holy hell! I can't do it! I can't!" he screamed, running down the hall and disappearing around the corner.

Hidan wrinkled his nose. "What the hell's his problem?"

Around another corner, Konan and Itachi spotted their next victim and nodded to each other. They walked up to Hidan. "Can we speak to you for a minute?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why..?" he asked suspiciously.

"You'll find out. Please?"

Sighing, he agreed. They lured him into one of the empty rooms and closed the door. Itachi made sure it was locked before turning his attention back to them. Hidan took a seat on a couch across from Konan who chose an arm chair. A dusty coffee table sat between them on top of which Hidan chose to rest one of his legs.

"So what do you want?" he asked, picking his teeth with his fingernail.

Konan already knew her strategy. She knew exactly what to do to put Hidan into a trance. "I just wanted to ask you a few things. Like your partner for example. You two were running kind of late. It was his fault, correct?" She planned to get him talking just like she did with Deidara.

It worked. Hidan immediately began to rant. "It was all over a stupid coin! Can you believe that?"

"Has he done other things? I'm sure he has. What annoys you most about his money obsession?"

"Hell, where to start?" Hidan sat back, playing with his earlobe. "Well… Ah! Yeah, that! When we were on that one assignment, we were traveling and all, it was gonna rain, we passed by an inn and you know what he did? When I asked him if we could stay there for the night he said no. He actually passed it up! He just all out refused! Said it would cost too much money just for one night and that camping was free. I told him to spot me some cash so I could stay there and he refused that, too! What a bastard! And hell yeah, it started to rain on us and we got soaked. And you know what else?"

Hidan continued his rant, Konan ignoring the curse words sprinkled throughout. Finally, after almost fifteen minutes of non-stop ranting, Hidan seemed to have run out of steam and sat back in his seat. Konan let him breathe for a minute before she spoke to him again.

"If you could change him at all… What would you like to do if he let you?"

"Eh?" he looked up. "Huh. Haven't thought about that before." He tilted his head back, thinking. "Well… for starters, I'd set myself up in a five star inn, order all the damn room service I want, maybe get a massage… By a whole mess of sexy-ass girls. The works."

"De-stressing time, huh?"

"Hell yeah. You know it."

Konan made her next move. "Have you ever tried doing that yourself?"

"Do what?" he asked, looking confused.

"De-stressing? Like a massage without being touched."

He snorted. "How the hell do you do that? What kind of crap nonsense is that?"

"Just try it with me then. Right now."

Hidan rolled his eyes, reluctantly agreeing. "Oh, Jashin…"

"Ok," she told him. "Now close your eyes."

He refused at first, but after some persuasion, he did as he was told.

"Now, I want you to picture an ocean."

"This is so stupid…"

"Humor me. And no talking."

"Nnn."

"Ok." Konan used that same voice she always used when she tried to put someone under. That soothing voice that seemed to put them at ease. "Picture an ocean, vast and blue. Imagine yourself standing on the shore. Feel the waves lapping up on the shore, soaking your feet."

"Mm-hmm." He didn't sound very impressed. But he seemed to be listening to her.

"You move further out into the water. Feel the waves lapping up on your legs, rhythmically. Pushing and pulling. The waves are up to your knees. The waves push against your knees and pull back out to sea. Waves pushing on your kneecaps. Pushing and pulling, back and forth."

This time he didn't make a sound.

"The waves are higher now. Nice gentle, warm water, splashing against your thighs. Pushing and pulling, back and forth and back and forth. The waves are higher now. Feel the water pushing and pulling on your hips. The waves slapping your back. Feel that water flowing."

Hidan sat quietly looking very tranquil. It appeared to be working.

"The warm waves are up to your chest. Back and forth, pushing and pulling. Up to your shoulders. Feel the waves, massaging your shoulders. Pushing and pulling, pushing and pulling, pushing and pulling. Up to your neck now. Waves gently lapping up on your neck. Touching your earlobes. Back and forth."

Hidan shivered slightly, imagining the waves touching his ears. He sighed and settled back down.

"Feel the waves carrying your body out to sea. It's alright. They're just carrying you away from all the noise and stress. Out to nothing. Feel your body floating on the waves, carrying you. Ride the gentle waves. The soothing waves."

Hidan's head started to bob. He seemed to be nodding off. He let his body stretch out, feeling very relaxed.

"Feel yourself floating… just floating…"

His head bobbed again.

"Now…" she moved forward. "Open your eyes and look at me."

It took some effort but Hidan managed to open his eyes and looked straight into hers. She had never seen such a peaceful look on his face before. Even Hidan could be pleasant when he was sleepy.

"Your eyes are getting heavy… very heavy…"

His eyes drooped.

"Heavier and heavier… They're so heavy…"

His eyes drooped even more, becoming too heavy to keep open.

"You're getting sleepier and sleepier and sleepier… You're getting sleepy… very sleepy…"

His head bobbed.

"You're falling into a very deep sleep…"

His eyes drooped again.

"When I count backwards from five, you'll get even sleepier and more and more relaxed. When I reach zero, you will fall into a very deep trance and be willing to do anything I tell you…"

He blinked slowly. He looked so out of it.

"Five… four… three… two… one… zero."

Hidan's head fell back against the back of the couch, laying perfectly still.

"Hidan, can you hear me?"

He nodded sleepily.

"Good. Whenever I snap my fingers and say the word 'sleep' you will fall back into this trance, deeper and more peaceful than before. And when I snap my fingers and say the word 'awake' you will awaken from your trance. Is that understood?"

He nodded slowly.

Konan sat back in her seat, looking around the room. Itachi had his ears covered and was looking away from them, trying not to get caught up in the spell as well. Konan waved her hand trying to get his attention. Itachi looked her way and lowered his hands.

"Is he under?"

She nodded. "I'm about to give him a command. Any thoughts?"

"Do whatever you want."

She already knew what she wanted to do with him. "Hidan," she faced him again. "When you awaken from your trance, you will no longer have a desire to curse or swear or use any fowl language around other people. Understand?"

He gave another nod.

"Good." She would give him more commands later but for now she wanted to see if these ones worked. She snapped her fingers. "Awake!"

Hidan opened his eyes and sat up. He gave his head a shake, feeling very groggy. "I think I dozed off…" he mumbled.

"How do you feel?" asked Konan.

"Ok, I guess. Just kind of groggy." He gave a weak chuckle. "I guess that de-stress thing does kind of work. I'm not sure if I'm de-stressed or not, though. I don't feel too different."

"That's fine." Konan got up. "We'll just get out of your hair now."

Hidan watched them move towards the door. "So that was it? That was fast."

So far so good. Normally he would have said 'that was pretty damn fast' or something along those lines. Konan thought it would be best if they left Hidan alone and observe him from afar.

"Yeah, that was it. We'll see you later."

Hidan raised a brow at them suspiciously. Then he shrugged it off and flopped down on the couch sideways, tucking his arms behind his head. "Whatever. We still have something good for meals, right?"

"Yeah, there's food."

"Good. Let me know when it's ready."

Konan turned around. "You mean you expect us to cook for you?"

"Why not?" he asked. "You expect me to do everything around here?"

"When it comes to making your own meal…"

He turned away without a word. The command seemed to have worked. By now he would have been cursing up a storm. The mere fact that he turned away was proof enough that he no longer had the desire to curse. He would have been screaming by now had the hypnosis not worked.

Konan and Itachi left without speaking another word to him and down the hall.

"So far, so good," said Konan. "He's not cursing. Thank God."

Itachi grunted.

When Konan turned to look at him she found Itachi staring at the floor, lost in thought. "Are you alright?"

He didn't look up right away. When he did, he seemed to be avoiding her eyes. "I… had a request…" He was avoiding her eyes. He was nervous.

This made Konan interested. "A request? Uh… Sure. What is it?"

Itachi shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Without looking at her, he told her what he wanted.

"I want you to hypnotize me."

* * *

Say what~? What could this be about?

Please review! ^-^


	13. Guilt

**Chapter 13: Guilt**

Konan stared at him, stunned. Had she heard him correctly? Did he really say what she thought he said?

"Uh… w- what?"

Itachi spoke to her clearly. "I want you to hypnotize me."

There was no mistake this time. That was what he said. No doubt about it. "Ok. But… But why?" What was he trying to pull? "Are you serious? I thought you were upset when you found out that I tried it on you before."

He shrugged.

"Ok, let me get this straight. You want me… to hypnotize you? Willingly?"

"That's right."

"But why?"

Itachi swallowed. "I want you to make me forget something. I can't do it on my own so I need your help. You're the only one I can ask."

So he wanted to forget something. Hypnosis could be used for that, no doubt. But what could be haunting Itachi so much that he would resort to this? "What do you want me to make you forget?" she asked him.

His answer was slow in coming but as clear as glass. "My guilt."

"Your what?"

He gave a quick look around to make sure no one was there to listen. "My guilt. I want you to make me forget my guilt." Seeing the confused look on her face, Itachi explained further. "We are messing with people's minds, you know. And I am taking advantage of this as well. So… I don't want to feel bad about doing it. So I want you to make me forget my guilt so I can enjoy this better. You know?"

"Oh." Konan only half believed him. There must have been more to this than he was telling. "So you want me to make you forget your guilt? That's it?"

"Yes. This power of yours will only last for one week. After that everything will return to normal. So during that time, I don't want to have any regrets. I want you to do this for me."

Konan paused.

"Please?"

That made her jumped. Itachi said 'please'. That was close to begging for him. He really wanted her to do this for him. She decided to oblige. "Alright. Come on." She took him into his bedroom.

Itachi went inside first and stood by the door waiting for her to enter. Once she was inside, he closed the door and locked it. He went over to a chair and started to sit down. Konan shook her head and he stopped.

"On the bed."

He stared at her. He was alone in a locked bedroom with a woman and she wanted him on the bed. It was only natural for him to feel a sense of awkwardness about the situation.

"You have to be comfortable for it to work," she explained. "Isn't a bed more comfortable than a wooden chair?"

Still staring at her, Itachi moved slowly over to the bed and sat down on the edge, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. She pulled over the chair and sat it in front of him. Once they were both in the proper position, they looked at each other without saying a word.

"So…" Itachi broke the silence. "How do you want to do this? It should be easy considering how I'm willing to be put under."

"That's right. So it's not like I have to trick you into relaxing." She looked around the small room for a tool she could use. "Too bad we don't have any pendulums around. It is a bit stereotypical, but it works."

Itachi reached inside his collar and unhooked something around his neck. "Here, use this." He handed her his necklace.

"Really?"

"Just give it to me when I wake up." Itachi placed the necklace into her open palm. "Now remember, I want you to make me forget my guilt. You don't have to do anything else, ok? Can I trust you to do this?"

She nodded. "I promise, I won't mess with your head anymore than you want me to. Besides, knowing you, you'll end up remembering it all anyway."

He shrugged and nodded, knowing she may have been right about that. "Ok, let's get this over with." He faced her and the necklace dangling between her fingers. "Do it."

Konan held the necklace in front of his face and started swinging it slowly. His eyes followed its every move. Because he was willing to be put under, his trance seemed to develop quickly compared to others. In no time at all, Itachi's eyes started to grow heavy. Konan spoke to him calmly, telling him to relax. He didn't fight it. His eyes started drooping further and further as she spoke.

"As I count backwards from ten, you will feel even more relax and sleepy until I reach zero. When I get to zero, you will fall into a deep sleep and be willing to do anything I say. You will do anything I tell you. Ten… Nine… Your eyes are getting heavy… Eight… very heavy… Seven… heavier and heavier…"

Itachi's eyes were completely blank and emotionless. He looked on the verge of passing out.

"Six… your arms and legs are numb and relaxed… five… your whole body is very relaxed… four… deeply relaxed…"

His head started bobbing.

"Three… relax further… deeply… Two… give in to it… this wonderful feeling of peace… one… zero."

Itachi's head fell forward and he started to tip over. Konan lowered the necklace and held him in an upright position. He was completely limp. It was hard to hold him up, but somehow she managed.

"Relax deeper and deeper… and sleep…"

His head was down so she couldn't see his face. But she could feel in his shoulders how relaxed he was.

"Now you will do anything I say… understand?"

He nodded sleepily.

Konan bit her lip. This was almost too easy. Was Itachi really in a trance or was he faking it? She found it hard to believe how easy it was. She had to test it to make sure he was really under. But it would have to be something he would never do, even on a dare. Asking him to do a dance seemed like something he would never normally do but it wasn't enough. It had to be something else. Something much more out there. Something he would never do in his right state of mind. Even if he were to try to fake it, he would break character in some way.

Finally she had an idea. She knew if he was truly faking this trance, he would never ever do this. "Itachi… I want you to kiss me. Give me a kiss." There was no way he would do such a thing.

To her surprise, Itachi began to lean forward, lips puckered. Her eyes grew wide. He was really about to do it. Surely he would stop before he got close. He wasn't stopping. He was an inch away.

Konan quickly turned her head to the side, letting his lips come crashing down on her cheek instead. His soft lips planted themselves on her cheek, giving her a gentle kiss. Then he parted from her and sat perfectly still. She turned and looked at him. His blank expression never changed. He really did it.

There was no way she could accept a kiss from him on the lips. She didn't mind Itachi, but she didn't feel that way about him. Her heart belonged to another. If she was ever going to be kissed, it was going to be by him.

Calming down, she spoke to him again. "Good. Now go deeper and relax completely. Let yourself go. Deeper and deeper…"

Itachi's head dropped to his chest. Konan let him fall sideways onto the bed, laying him down. He didn't move. He remained limp and listless, letting her move his body into any position she wanted. She let him rest his head on the pillow and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. He sighed deeply and sank into the pillow.

She stepped back, sitting back on the wooden chair behind her. Now that he was in a successful trance, he was going to do anything she said. Not only that, but given what she knew about these trances, they couldn't lie to her. She could ask him anything she wanted and he had to answer truthfully.

With that in mind, she asked him what she wanted to ask him all along. "Itachi… you asked me to make you forget your guilt because you felt bad about what you were doing to the others. Is that true?"

He didn't answer right away. When he did, it was a mumble. "No."

She knew it. "Why did you want me to make you forget your guilt?"

He frowned, his eyes shut tight. "Because…" he answered drowsily. "Because… I want to forget… the things I did to my clan… and to my brother…"

"Oh?" She knew what Itachi had done, but she had never heard it directly from him before. She had also never seen him look so upset before.

"I… want to forget…" He frowned harder, his hands balling into fists. "It haunts me every moment of my life… I know it's my punishment but… just for a couple of days… I want… I want to forget…" He looked like he was on the verge of tears. This must have hurt him a lot more than he let on. "I want to forget killing the people I love. I want to forget hurting my brother and making him hate me… But if he hates me… it's ok… It's better…"

"Why is that, Itachi?"

"Because… this way I don't have to protect him all the time and he will be strong on his own. I was always stronger than him. If he manages to defeat me and kill me… then that means that he surpassed me and I have nothing to worry about anymore. He will be able to protect himself. That's why I keep living. I can't leave my brother alone and defenseless. I want to make sure he's ok. He has to be the one to kill me. That way I can atone for my sins and so he will be able to look after himself. So I don't have to worry."

Konan had never heard such a thing before. It was so touching. He truly felt awful about what he did. He truly loved his brother and cared about him. This guilt was such a painful burden to him. She felt she had to do something to relieve him of it, if only for a few days. He deserved some happiness in his life.

"You're a good brother, Itachi…" she whispered to him. She reached down and stroked his cheek with her fingertips. He looked like he was crying but there were no tears. He was suffering. She had to do this for him. "Now I want you to listen to me, Itachi. Do as I say."

He didn't respond. She knew he was listening.

"I want you to forget killing your clan. It never happened. You never did those horrible things."

Itachi's face started to relax. His fists unclenched.

"Sasuke is safe and happy. He knows you're a good big brother."

Itachi's whole body visibly relaxed, all the tension drained from him. It was like a long, endless pain was suddenly lifted from him.

"Forget your guilt. Forget every bad thing you ever did to your village. To your clan. It never happened. Forget it all. You never did anything bad to them. You never killed. You never hurt. Forget it all. All the pain and sadness. Everything is alright. It's alright."

Konan stopped when she saw the look on Itachi's face change to something she had never seen before. He was smiling. Sighing contentedly, he sank into the bed, smiling and feeling free for the first time in his life.

"Your guilt is gone. There is nothing to feel guilty of. Everything is alright."

She felt like she had given Itachi a great gift. He looked so relieved and happy. She let Itachi soak it all in and enjoy it. Then she moved closer to him. She brush a strand of hair out of his face and behind his ear.

"When I snap my fingers and say 'awake', you will wake up from your trance." She started to pull away from him. "Take in a deep breath… feel it warm you up from the inside out." He inhaled deeply and let it out in a happy sigh. "Now… Awake." She snapped her fingers.

Itachi's eyes opened and he looked around. He sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

He yawned. "I'm a little groggy but I think I'm alright." He stretched. "That felt nice. Like a really good nap."

"How do you feel?"

He stretched out his legs, looking at the mattress. "Actually… I feel great." He turned his head and beamed at her.

This was a shock, seeing Itachi with a big smile on his face. "So you're ok?"

He hopped off the bed. "Yeah, actually. I'm pretty great." He stood in front of her and spotted his necklace in her hands. "Can I have that back, please?"

"Oh, sure." She handed him the necklace back. He clipped it into place, still grinning. He really looked happy. She had never seen this before. It was a welcomed change and she liked it.

Itachi started to unlock the door. "It should be around lunch time, right? Want to eat something?"

She jumped. "Oh. Uh, sure." She followed him out of the room. This new Itachi was nice and everything, but it would take some getting use to.

* * *

Aw, poor Itachi. Think this will change anything?

Please review! ^-^


	14. Lunchtime

**Chapter 14: Lunchtime **

It was by far the oddest lunch Konan had ever witnessed. Everyone who ate in the Akatsuki was at the kitchen table with their meal of choice. It started out pleasant enough. It went downhill from there.

Hating the silence, Deidara spoke up. "So… what's up?"

Normally Hidan would have cured at him, but he just shrugged and answered, "Nothing much."

Deidara frowned. "It's too quiet, hn." He picked up his cup and hit himself over the head, spilling the water down his back. "Eeeeyai!"

"Stop that, then!" said Hidan.

"I wish I could! I can't help it!"

Kisame looked down at his soup with relief. Eating soup didn't require the use of a knife so he could enjoy it without fear. Most of the other members were eating the soup prepared by Kakuzu earlier simply because it was convenient. They didn't have to do anything but fill up a bowl. He lifted the bowl up to his lips and started slurping, leaving his spoon on the table. "This is pretty good… What soup is this?"

Kakuzu answered, sitting across the table between Zetsu and Hidan. "Shark fin."

Kisame spat the soup in Hidan's face. "What?!"

Sitting directly across from Kisame in this situation was not the best idea Hidan ever had. Face dripping wet, he stood up, putting one foot up on his chair and started shouting at Kisame. "Why, you filthy, disgusting, lousy son of a…" He stopped there, unable to continue. For some reason, he couldn't get the word out. It was as if a switch had been pulled inside him, eliminating access to his crude vocabulary. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get himself to say that word. It wouldn't come out.

Seeing this, Konan smiled, sipping her own soup at the head of the table. This was a nice change.

But Hidan found it frustrating. He wanted to say it and yet he couldn't. It was as if he knew it was wrong to say and therefore couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. He was thinking it awful hard, but could not speak it. In his fury, he picked up his half empty bowl and threw it in Kisame's face.

Kisame pulled away from the table, soaking wet with his least favorite dish. "Hey!"

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it, fish-face?!"

He instinctively reached for his kunai and prepared to throw it. The moment he looked down and saw the sharp blade in his hand, he flinched and then… "EEEEE!" As if it were devouring his arm, he shook the kunai from his hand and planted it in the wall behind Deidara's head, who had to duck to avoid it.

Deidara was less than pleased. "Hey! Watch it would you, you stupid shark! Hn!" He picked up his plate and broke it over his head. "Ow!"

Sitting between them, Itachi began to snicker.

This caused everyone to turn and look at him in shock.

"Did Itachi just… laugh?"

They didn't know whether to run for the hills or duck in cover. Either Itachi had lost his mind, he was seriously about to slaughter them all, or it was the end of the world.

But that wasn't the case. Itachi was actually feeling pretty happy. He was very amused by Deidara's hypnotized reactions which he had implanted himself. He was having fun. Looking around at everyone's stunned expressions, he asked, "What?"

Now that they looked at him, Itachi did seem happier and more lively than usual. His eyes were bigger and brighter, as if they had never witnessed any sort of pain whatsoever. He looked so… spirited. That was the only way they could describe it.

Taking advantage of the moment, Kisame turned back to the others. "How could you give me shark fin soup?! And not tell me!"

"We figured you'd know."

"Not when you make it like this! I could barely taste the fin…"

"Then don't complain."

"It's the principal of the thing!"

"You just have to bitch about something, don't you?" muttered Deidara.

Itachi leaned over and stroked Kisame's arm. "It's ok, buddy. Shark skin."

Immediately, Kisame forgot everything that had happened in the last few moments. Not remembering why he was out of his seat in the first place, he sat back down next to Itachi to finish eating. To avoid another outburst, Itachi quickly swapped Kisame's soup for what Deidara was eating. This wasn't easily forgiven by Deidara who was now left without his lunch.

"Hey!" He already didn't like Itachi. This was just something else he could add to his hate list. "That was mine!"

"Not anymore."

"I was eating that!"

"Well, now he is."

"You can't do that, hn!" Deidara grabbed the bowl of soup and dumped it over his head. "Ahh!" He jumped back, soaking wet and wearing the bowl like a hat. "That freaking hurt, hn!" He took the bowl off his head, but only for a moment and then smashed it over his head again. "Ow!"

"With any luck you'll knock yourself out," commented Itachi.

Deidara removed the bowl and held it behind his head, ready to throw it at Itachi. "Shut up, hn!" Instead of throwing it like he intended, he ended up turning it on himself and smashed it over his head again, this time breaking it. "Ow! Son of a..!"

A fragment landed near Itachi's plate but he didn't mind. It was kind of fun seeing Deidara in pain like this.

Kisame was already halfway through Deidara's meal when he took noticed of what the ladder was doing. "Why do you keep doing that?" he asked.

"How the hell should I know! I just do it! I can't help it!"

"Should we strap you down or something?"

"Shut up, hn." He picked up a bowl shard and hit himself over the head with it with it. "Ow! God! Ah..!" Deidara staggered away from the table holding his skull in his hands. "Ow… Look. Check my head. Am I bleeding?"

"You're fine."

"You didn't even look, hn!" Deidara took off his tool bag and brought it down hard on his already sore head. "Ow! Damn it to hell!"

Hidan leaned over to Kakuzu and whispered, "I think he's lost his mind, don't you?"

Kakuzu shrugged. "I don't know and don't really care."

"Not at all?"

"Not really." Kakuzu drank the remains of his soup and set the empty bowl aside. "I don't really care about anything at the moment."

Hidan tilted his head to one side. "You feeling ok? You've been kind of mellow lately."

"Really? I haven't noticed."

"You also haven't been tearing down any walls looking for money."

"Eh." He gave a shrug. "I don't really care about that anymore. I don't really want to look for money."

Everyone's head snapped up and stared at him in total shock. Hidan himself was so shocked he dropped his glass on the table and didn't react at all when the cold water dripped onto his lap. Kisame's mouth fell open and a piece of meat fell out.

Kakuzu looked at everyone's shocked faces, puzzled. "What?"

Hidan looked at the ceiling, worried. "Is the sky about to fall or something? I think this is a sign of the end of the world."

"There's more to life than just money," said Kakuzu.

"Now I know it's the end of the world."

Itachi glanced over at Konan who kept her eyes on her plate. He knew she had done something to make Kakuzu forget his money obsession. He honestly didn't care. Looking around, he knew that each and everyone of them had been a victim of hers at some point. But none of them were aware of it.

That got him thinking.

Standing up, he gave Konan a quick glance, pointing his eyes out the door and then continued on his way, walking out of the kitchen. She got his wordless message and followed after him a minute later while the others were arguing and trying to find out if the apocalypse was upon them or not.

She met up with Itachi in the hall, far from the kitchen, not that anyone could hear them anyway. "What is it?" she asked.

"I was wondering… You got to everyone in that room, didn't you?"

She didn't answer him.

"I figured as much." He gave her a grin, something he had never done before. This was a whole new Itachi. "Who haven't you used this new power on yet?"

She thought of all the Akatsuki members, going down her mental checklist. She had successfully used hypnosis on Deidara, Zetsu, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan and Itachi. There was one missing. "Sasori. I haven't used it on him yet."

Itachi's smile spread. That was easily fixed. "I know just where he is. Let's get him." It was time to have a little fun with the only one remaining. There was no way he was going to slip through their grasp.

* * *

I wonder... how are they supposed to hypnotize a puppet? Hmm...

Please review! ^-^


	15. Sasori

**Chapter 15: Sasori**

Konan followed Itachi to the end of the long hall where Sasori was located. "Are you sure about this? He hasn't done anything to bother anyone yet."

"So you only do this to people who annoy you?"

She didn't answer his question. "Why do you want to do this so much?"

"I think it's fun and it seems a shame to waste." Itachi stopped in front of the wooden door. "Here we are." He was smiling again. "Now get in there and put him under, ok?"

She didn't move.

"Please?" Itachi gave her a pathetic look which was hard to refuse. He never ever did this before. This was very strange. Could removing his guilt really bring about all this change in him?

With a sigh, she agreed. "Very well." Actually, she had kind of wanted to do this anyway, just in case anything happened. For example, if he discovered anything they were doing she could erase his memory. "I'll do it. I'll put him under."

Itachi smiled brightly at her, happy. Then his smile began to fade as he thought of something. "Do puppets sleep?"

"Huh?"

"Well, it just occurred to me that Sasori is a puppet… right? So he doesn't eat. Does that mean he doesn't sleep either?"

Good question. It was time to find that out.

Konan knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She walked inside with Itachi close behind. She stopped and shooed him away. He was told to stay outside the door until she had put Sasori under so Itachi wouldn't be affected as well. He agreed, pouting slightly, and Konan closed the door. As she turned into the room, she noticed how dimly lit it was. Sasori had a bed in the far corner of the room. Perhaps he did sleep after all. He was sitting in an armchair with a wooden puppet in his lap. He seemed to be tuning it.

As she walked further inside, he looked up, tossing his tool aside. "What did you want?" he asked softly.

"I wanted to talk with you for a minute or two."

He glanced at her for a moment and then looked down at his puppet. "Oh? Is that right?" He picked up another tool and started to tighten something inside the hollow cavity behind the head. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

This wouldn't work. She needed him to look at her in order for this to be effective. She pulled a chair over and sat across from him. "Could you maybe fiddle with that later?"

"Why? I can hear you fine. I told you, I'm listening."

"I know, but please?"

He continued tightening something without a word. Then after another minute, he set the tool aside and closed the trap door on the puppet. He slowly lowered it to the floor as if it were made out of precious glass and looked up at her. "Ok. What?"

Good. Now she had his attention. Now she had to get him to relax and focus on her. She reached into her coat and took out a small stack of different colored paper. "It's about your partner. Deidara."

"Ok."

She took a sheet of paper from the stack and started to fold it in her hand so it formed a triangle. "He's been acting a little strange lately. Have you noticed?"

"Who hasn't? Most of the people around here are turning into raving lunatics. Why do you bring that up?"

She folded the paper again. "It concerned me. That's all." She folded the edges of the paper. In half. In half again. "You've been together for a while, haven't you?"

"Yes. We have been partners for a while."

"Do you ever argue or fight or anything? Like about art for example."

"We debate is more like it," he answered. He was distracted by the paper being folded again and again in her hands. The crinkling noise was very distracting, but it wasn't annoying at all. It was quiet. "He has his taste and I have mine."

"But you do not fight?" she asked, holding up her finished crane origami.

"Not… especially." That folding was making him lose his train of thought. She had grabbed another piece of paper and was now folding that one like she had the other. "He says it's fleeting… art. But I say it should liger and…" He gave his head a shake. "Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?" she asked, folding the paper.

"That. The paper folding. It's distracting." She continued to fold it in front of him. It wasn't annoying but it made it hard for him to concentrate on his answers.

"Sorry. Habit of mine." She held up another work of art; this one a beetle. "Do you like the art of paper folding?"

"It's ok." She was folding another. Her delicate fingers working away so skillfully to shape the paper into a masterpiece. "If Deidara were around, he would set it on fire. I would just… look at it and put it on display or… something." He was starting to feel strange. His head felt light and cloudy.

Watching her fold that paper was entertaining. Kind of soothing in a way. The light crinkling, the way her hands moved so easily over the edges, folding it here and there. The finished piece was held up for him to see. This one was a bull. She set it aside and started on another. Sasori was finding it hard to think. He just wanted to watch her at work. He didn't want to talk anymore.

Noticing this, Konan went on. She folded another one. And another. One right after another, she folded animal after animal out of the colorful pieces of paper. She did most of the talking during that time. Sasori looked like be couldn't be bothered to speak. He was looking strangely calm and relaxed. She folded another animal out of the paper and set it down. Then she took out another piece of paper. This one she crafted into a rose. Sasori couldn't take his eyes off her hands. Everything she did, all her movements. They were simply hypnotic.

"You're looking a little sleepy, Sasori," she said quietly.

He blinked. "Hm?" He took his eyes off the paper flower to look at her. But only for a moment. He went right back to looking at the paper rose.

"They say some flower scents make you feel sleepy. Did you know that?"

"… No." He took his time in answering. His eyes were beginning to look heavy.

"That's what they say. They make you feel really sleepy. And you get sleepier and sleepier. All the time. It must be good when you're restless and cannot sleep. Think so?"

"Hm." He was still staring at the flower she was spinning between her fingers. Left then right and back again. It spun left, then it spun right, then left and right again. His eyes were feeling really tired. His mind was fuzzy.

"It must feel good to fall asleep surrounded by flowers. Don't you think? The sweet smell all around you. The soft touch of their petals. Laying in the grass on a warm day. The gentle breeze blowing through the delicate plant life. The petals shaken from their place and scattered all around you. Their soft touch. Their tickle. It must feel so good to sleep just like that. It sounds so relaxing and nice, doesn't it? Like the most perfect sleep."

As she painted a mental picture for him, Sasori's eyes began to droop. It did sound wonderful. He could picture it now. Laying in the grass surrounded by lovely flowers under a tree. The breeze blowing so gently through his hair. His body completely sprawled out on a hill side. He could picture it. So perfectly. His head started to fall forward.

Then it snapped up again. He blinked, waking himself up. He was too relaxed. He couldn't allow himself to fall asleep like this. Not here and now in front of her. He started to sit up, trying to keep himself awake.

Noticing this, Konan shushed him. She could not let him escape now that she was so close. Just another moment or two and he would have been under. "It's ok. It's ok."

He started to look around the room, but his eyes kept coming back to that spinning flower. His body started to relax again. He stared. His mind began to wander freely, forgetting everything that was happening around him.

"Sleeping in the grass surrounded by flowers sounds nice, doesn't it?" she whispered to him in a calm voice. "Can't you just see it? Right before your very eyes. Can't you?"

His head started nodding. His eyes were getting heavy again. Heavier and heavier.

"Just picture yourself laying there. The breeze. The sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Don't you just love that sound? Can't you hear it making the sweetest music there is? The scent of the grass and flowers. Maybe there's a stream nearby. The trickling water sounds nice, too, doesn't it? A nice gentle stream with clear clean water. What a wonderful thing."

It was so vivid. He could see and hear it all in his mind. So tranquil.

"As you lie there, you feel yourself relaxing. Deeper and deeper. The grass surrounding you like a gentle sweet wall of green. The fluffy white clouds drifting by. That's what you're doing right now. Just drifting. Drifting…"

His eyes were getting even heavier. He felt so relaxed.

"Sleepy… You're getting really sleepy now… The smell is intoxicating. Such a sweet gentle scent. The sound of the breeze and the stream… like lullabies… sweet gentle lullabies. Sending you off into a deep sleep."

Sasori yawned. He felt so tired.

"Sleepier and sleepier you get… Weightless feeling surrounds you. Like you're floating away. But your whole body feels so numb and relaxed. So heavy… it's like you're sinking into the ground like a soft pillow… Like a cloud. A nice, soft, fluffy cloud… Sink into the softness and float away… Far away…"

Sasori's head started to fall forward again. This felt wonderful. He felt so good. This sleepiness… He had never felt like this before. So completely relaxed. It was great. So great. It was time to let go and float away. He let his body relax a little more, sinking into the armchair. Like a cloud… Floating…

Something was wrong. He shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't relax this much. What kind of ninja was he? And in front of another. He shouldn't let his guard down. He had to stay awake. He had to fight it.

Sasori moaned, forcing his eyes open. Konan watched, horrified. How could he resist this much? She was so close! She couldn't let him slip away. "Just relax. Everything's alright."

As soothing as her voice was, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't. He fought back. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that he was in danger. He couldn't let himself fall asleep. Moaning, Sasori pried his eyes open with all his might, sitting up. He was so out of it. He could hardly tell where he was. Everything was blurry. His eyes were so heavy and tired. How he wanted to close them and drift off. No, he couldn't do that. He had to fight this.

"Relax. You're safe. Everything's ok. It's alright. It's alright."

Sasori shook his head, trying hard to wake up. "… N- no… I… I…" The fog was only just beginning to clear up. He wasn't fully awake yet at all. He still had a ways to go. "I… I shouldn't… I…"

Konan couldn't let him go now. She moved forward and started to stroke his face in a calming manner. "Shh… It's ok. Just relax… Everything's fine."

His eyes fluttered. He was only just beginning to go into a trance. From the look of things, he seemed to be in a half-trance. Just beginning to fall asleep. Sasori wanted to slap himself in order to wake himself up but his arms were too heavy to lift. He ignored her gentle strokes and shut his eyes tight, turning away. This was wrong. This wasn't a normal sleep he was falling into. Something was wrong. Very wrong. "I can't… I shouldn't… I…" Sasori shook his head again. "No. No, I- I can't…" He wasn't safe. He was in danger. Something bad was going to happen if he fell asleep.

Konan stroked his face again, trying to calm him down. "Relax. It's ok. You're fine. Everything's fine."

He was beginning to wake up. "I can't… fall asleep… Something… something's wrong here… I… can't…"

Konan gently grabbed his chin and guided his head toward her again. She stroked his head with her free hand. "Shh… It's ok… Everything's going to be just fine. It's ok. It's ok…" She could see a glimmer of resistance in his eyes. He still looked really, really sleepy. She may have a shot. "Look into my eyes."

"Wha..?" Sasori looked into her eyes. They were… amazing. Something in them told him that everything was ok. Nothing bad was going to happen. That he was safe. He felt so safe. Nothing could hurt him as long as he looked into those big beautiful eyes. But that voice in the back of his mind was highly skeptical. Her eyes never had that quality to them before. Something was happening to him. Something bad. "Wh- what are… you… doing?"

"Just relax. You're safe. Everything is fine." She saw his eyes getting heavy again. The longer he stared, the heavier they became. His eyelids drooped. "You're safe. Nothing can hurt you. It's alright. It's alright."

The more she repeated it, the more he came to believe it. Konan had found that repetition was perfect when inducing a trance in someone. The more she repeated a phrase or word, the more they seemed to go under. It was as if it convinced them to do as she said. Sasori relaxed the more she told him that everything was alright. He was starting to lower his defenses.

"Relax… Everything is fine."

Sasori was beginning to go under again when he twisted away. "N- no… I… No…" His eyes found hers again. This time he could not look away. His eyes were magnetized to hers. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake.

"Relax," she said again. "Everything is fine."

He gave a soft whimper, trying so hard to fight back. It was a losing struggle.

"Everything is fine. Relax. Just relax. Everything is fine. You're safe. Perfectly safe. Everything is fine."

His eyes twitched, trying to look away. Her voice was somehow convincing him to believe exactly what she was telling him. "E- ever… every… e- everything… everything… is… is fine..?"

"Everything is fine. Everything is perfectly fine."

A warm pleasant feeling spread throughout his entire body, making his brain tingle wonderfully. "Every… thing… is… fine…"

"Everything is perfectly fine," she told him, stroking his jaw. She could feel the tension leave his body.

He relaxed fully. "Everything is fine." As he said it, he convinced himself and the tiny voice in his head that he was in no danger whatsoever. He was fine. Everything was fine. Now he could give her control.

Konan moved closer, still holding his jaw in her hand. "That's right. Everything is perfectly fine. Perfectly fine." She kept eye contact with him. Their noses were inches apart. "Relax… and sleep…"

His eyes drooped but did not close.

"Go to sleep."

His eyes started to droop again, then opened wide. "N… no…" He blinked, starting to wake up again. That voice in his head was screaming at him to wake up. He couldn't give her control. He had to fight this. Fight back! "I… can't… No…"

This was annoying. He was by far the hardest person she had ever had to put under. But she was so very close. Just a little more. She opened her eyes as wide as she could and moved closer, holding his jaw in place so he could not look away. "Just relax… just relax… relax…"

Sasori was still putting up a fight. He couldn't look away and he was afraid to close his eyes. If he did so, he might lose the battle. He tried to think. He had to do something to stay awake. He had to fight back. Don't give in! Don't give in no matter what!

But those eyes… those big hypnotic eyes… They were absolutely beautiful. He couldn't resist the pull from those eyes. The alluring charm or her soothing voice. No matter what he did, it wasn't enough. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. Konan's eyes seemed to glow as they stared at each other. The warmth of her hand supporting his head. His heavy, tired head. He was getting weaker. He couldn't move. He felt so heavy. So drained. He tried to speak. He had to get this to stop. It wasn't right. Something was wrong. "… w- wait…" He was losing strength faster when he tried to talk. Using his voice was draining him. But it might be the only thing keeping him awake. "W… wait… please…" He was getting weaker. "Please…"

Konan didn't let up for a single second. She kept on him, focusing everything she had on Sasori. She shushed him and pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh…" He quieted. Her soft hand felt nice on his face. Comforting. His lips moved up and down trying to speak but no sound came out. He didn't have the strength to make his voice work anymore. It was too much. She kept her finger on his lips until they stopped all together. Then she gently rubbed her fingertip around the outside of his mouth. Sasori seemed to melt at the soft touch. He was enjoying it. "Shhh… it's alright… It's alright…"

He said nothing. He only stared.

She said nothing and stroked his face with her fingertips, soothing him. He looked like a zombie. Sasori was on the verge of passing out. Now was the time to speak again. "Relax… Relax… Go to sleep…"

His eyes drooped again.

"Go to sleep."

They drooped even more. He couldn't keep them open for much longer. His mind had gone blank. Even that voice had grown silent.

"You're getting sleepy… Sleepy…"

Sasori's body was listless and heavy.

"Sleepy… sleepy…" Konan knew it was now or never. "Go to sleep. Fall into a deep, comfortable sleep… Just let go… and sleep…"

Sasori's eyes closed.

She smiled. "Good… That's good…"

His eyes fluttered open. He wasn't asleep yet. This one was stubborn.

"Be a good boy a go to sleep… Ok?"

Sasori's eyes closed again.

"That's a good boy…"

They started to open again. He wasn't out. It wasn't enough.

"I'm going to start counting. When I reach zero, you will fall into a deep sleep. You will listen to me and do as I say. You will obey me."

Sasori made a small noise, but it wasn't of protest. He wanted to sleep. He really did. It felt so good. This feeling of complete relaxation was wonderful. He wanted to give in. He wanted to enjoy this.

"Fifteen… Fourteen…" Konan started counting. "Thirteen…Twelve… you are feeling relaxed… Eleven… deeply relaxed… Ten… Nine… Relax deeply… Eight… deeper…"

Sasori felt as if he were floating. He couldn't feel anything. He was completely numb. No pain. No nothing.

"Seven… Six… you're so sleepy… Five… you're eyes are heavy… very heavy… four… close your eyes… Three… Now, you are so relaxed that you are in a trance… you will do anything I say… You will be completely under my control when I reach zero and fall into a deep sleep…"

Sasori's eyes were closed but he wasn't asleep yet. He looked like he was a million miles away.

Konan continued the countdown. "Two… One… and… zero."

Sasori slumped, out cold. It was about time. Konan carefully lowered him down so he was laying back in his chair. Sasori was as limp as a doll, completely motionless. He looked so peaceful. He was even smiling slightly. Konan had no idea how often Sasori slept or how long it had been since the last time he had slept so deeply. He must have really needed this. She almost didn't have the heart to exploit him like she was the others. Almost.

"Now…" she whispered to him as he slept. "When I tap your forehead and say 'sleep', you will fall back into this peaceful trance you're in right now. Only it will be even deeper and more relaxing than the first time. And when I clap my hands and say 'awake' you will wake up from your trance. Do you understand?"

Sasori nodded after a moment. His head's movement caused him to slump to the side a little. Konan had to hold him up to keep him from falling out of his chair. After setting him back against the chair, she went over to the door and opened it, showing Itachi inside.

"Took you long enough. I was out there for over half an hour."

"Sorry," she whispered. "He was hard to put under. He was more difficult than anyone else I've done this to."

"Maybe he doesn't sleep and that's why," Itachi thought aloud. "Or maybe he has a very strong will or something." He looked at Konan "Did you put him under? Is he ready?"

"Yes. I gave him his wake-up and sleep commands."

"Good."

"Have you thought of what you wanted to do to him?" she asked.

Itachi thought for a moment then shrugged. "Actually, I don't have anything I want to do to him at the moment. You can wake him up if you want. I'll come up with something later."

She nodded and sat in front of Sasori where she was before so it would look like he just fell asleep listening to her. Itachi backed up towards the door to make it look like he just walked in. Konan clapped her hands. "Awake."

Sasori's eyes opened quickly and he sat up. He looked straight at Konan who feigned innocence by looking at Itachi and then looking back at Sasori. "What?"

"Wha…?" Sasori looked at the paper flower in her hand and then at Itachi who was standing in the doorway, watching them. This was strange. He didn't remember Itachi being here. But he remembered Konan being there with that paper rose. And he remembered being in this chair. Had he slipped into a daydream or something? He must have spaced out. "Nothing." He looked down at his puppet on the floor by his chair.

"Something the matter?" Itachi asked, playing along.

Sasori shook his head. "No, nothing. Everything's fine."

Konan got up from her seat. "Well, if that's the case, I'll get out of your hair." She walked over to Itachi and the two left the room. Sasori was left alone wondering what had just happened to him.

* * *

Please review ^-^


	16. Messing Around

**Chapter 16: Messing Around **

So far everyone was staying out of each other's way, which was perfectly fine with Konan. As long as it was quiet, she didn't mind. Itachi, on the other hand was bored stiff. He wanted some fun activity to do. Konan had this power and now that she had used it on everyone in the building, there was nothing to do.

Except for maybe messing with people a little bit. Itachi started to smile. He knew the commands for most of the people. Surely he could come up with something entertaining to do. Itachi left his room and started to look around for someone to mess with. Who would make a good, easy target?

Deidara came around a corner, examining his singed sleeve. His tampering didn't go wrong. This was evidence of an experiment gone successfully well. As he walked down the hall, he couldn't help but notice possibly his least favorite person in the Akatsuki walking towards him coming from the other direction. Moaning, Deidara looked around for another place he could go. This hall only took him in one direction. He had no choice but to pass him by.

As he walked forward, keeping his eyes cast downward, Itachi deliberately stepped into his path. Deidara looked up and stepped off to the side. Itachi blocked him again. "Move," he demanded.

Itachi said nothing and smiled.

"What?"

He clapped his hands. "Sleep."

Deidara collapsed into Itachi's chest, completely limp. Itachi held him in his arms as if he were a large stuffed animal. He looked so peaceful. But that wasn't enough to stop him from having a little fun.

"Listen to me, Deidara. When you wake up, I want you to…" Itachi grinned evilly. "Become very attracted to Hidan and fall in love with him."

Deidara nodded his head sleepily.

"Good. Now up and at 'em."

Deidara opened his eyes and stood up, looking around. "What just happened?"

"You tripped. Good thing I caught you, huh?"

He snorted. "Whatever. Do me a favor and stay the hell away from me, hn." He grabbed his tool bag and hit himself over the head with it. Hard. "Ow! Damn it to hell!"

Itachi smiled and followed him in the shadows. He wanted to see what was about to take place.

Deidara walked past an open area which was most likely the sitting room. Hidan was sitting on the couch, cleaning his favorite weapon. Deidara stopped, eyes widening. Suddenly, he felt strange. His body was heating up. His face felt like it was reddening. He could feel his heartbeat increase. He had never seen Hidan in this light before. He looked… different. But really good. He was a handsome guy. Really handsome. Oh, God, he was sexy!

Itachi poked his head around the corner, watching. What was Deidara going to do next?

He started to inch his way over to where Hidan was sitting, unable to resist the magnetic pull. He couldn't remember where he was going or why. Everything went away the moment he saw Hidan sitting there. His memory, his self-respect, better sense of judgment. Everything. He just wanted to be with Hidan right now.

He stood beside the couch, looking at Hidan. The way he moved his hands over his smooth weapon was so enticing. He moved closer. Hidan's hair looked so amazing. If only he could reach over and run his hands through it. That would be wonderful. He sat on the end of the couch, watching him. Hidan didn't look up. He didn't seem to be aware of the other man. Deidara inched closer, sliding his body down the couch. Closer and closer until he was right next to him. He could feel Hidan's presence. He was so close. He felt a very strong impulse to reach out and touch him. Just wrap his arms around his alluring body.

Hidan paused. Something wasn't right. He looked to his left and saw Deidara leaning over to him, his chin almost touching his shoulder. "Uh… what are you doing?"

Deidara's head lifted. He was staring straight into Hidan's eyes. His blue eyes twinkled lovingly up at him. Hidan frowned, tightening his hold on his weapon. Deidara didn't see a threat but a handsome man he could play with. He thought Hidan looked cute when he was angry. He started giggling.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you giggling like that?"

"Am I?" He hadn't realized that he was laughing at all. He moved closer and Hidan raised his weapon with one arm. "Hi."

"Bye." Hidan moved away but the arm of the couch prevented him from moving any further away than he already was. That didn't stop Deidara from coming closer. He put his hand on Hidan's leg, moving closer and closer. Hidan leaned away, curving his spine as far as it would take him. "Wh- what are you doing?"

Deidara giggled again, unable to help himself. His whole body felt fuzzy, his mind swimming. He never felt like this before. It was like being drunk. He couldn't resist the feeling, urging him to move even closer. He longed to be held by Hidan in his strong ninja arms. He got on his knees, placing one on Hidan's hip and moved his hand up onto the arm of the couch, straddling him.

Around the corner, Itachi watched in silent delight. _Oh, God, this is better than cable_.

Deidara moved his face closer, staring into Hidan's frightened eyes. Licking his lips, he leaned in even closer. Closer.

"Whoa! No!" Hidan shoved Deidara off his chest and onto the floor. "Now way! Uh-uh! No, no!"

Deidara got up, placing his hands on Hidan's knees and lifting himself up into his lap. "What's the matter? Am I too much for you?"

"For the love of Jashin! Stop it!" Hidan threw Deidara out of his way and started to make a break for it.

Itachi didn't want the fun to end so soon. He stood up and cut Hidan off. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The guy's flipping crazy!" Hidan was still unable to curse, as much as he wanted to. And he really wanted to. "I'm getting out of here."

"Oh, no, you're not." Itachi blocked his path with his arm.

Hidan grabbed Itachi's arm, forcing it down. "I'll stay when he's off his high! Are there drugs in this building and no one told me about it?" Itachi wrapped his arm around Hidan's shoulders, pulling him into an embrace. Hidan's back was now pressed against Itachi's chest, held in place by his arm. Hidan kicked and squirmed, trying to break free. "Let me go! Let go, Itachi!"

"Oh, I will. In due time."

"Let go! Now!"

Itachi snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Hidan stopped moving and went limp. Itachi held him up with one arm. Hidan was pretty heavy, especially when limp. This wouldn't take long so Itachi didn't mind.

"Hidan, when you wake up, you will be extremely attracted to Deidara and fall in love with him." Itachi smiled deviously. This was going to be so much fun. He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Hidan's eyes opened and he stood up, pulling against Itachi's arm. This time, Itachi let himself get over powered and released him. "Get off me! Jeez!" He brushed himself off and tried to turn down the hall again, but Itachi still wouldn't let him leave. "What is your problem?"

Without a word, Itachi grabbed Hidan's shoulder and forcibly turned him around. Despite his protests, Hidan was forced back into the room with one hard shove. In the midst of the pushing, Hidan's eyes caught a glimpse of Deidara sitting on the couch and froze. Itachi stopped pushing him, smiling.

Since when had Deidara been so cute? Hidan didn't know Deidara could look so adorable.

Suddenly, he didn't want to leave anymore. He wanted to stay and get closer to him. He suddenly found Deidara irresistible. He started to cross the room, never taking his eyes off the blond for a second.

Itachi hid again. _This should be good_, he thought.

Hidan stood in front of the couch, looking down at Deidara. "Uh… hi."

Deidara looked up at him in, what Hidan found to be a very cute way. "Hi."

Hidan began to grow nervous. He never felt like this before. What should he do? "Uh… Um… Is this seat taken?"

"No. Sit down. Right next to me."

Wasting no time, Hidan sat down right beside Deidara. He fidgeted slightly. What should he do next? He had this urge, but he was trying to resist it. Not because he felt it was wrong of him but because he wasn't sure if Deidara would accept it. His chest started to tease up. He felt hot. Was this ok? Was he alright? He looked down at his knees, suddenly feeling shy.

Next he felt Deidara's hand on his face, stoking his pink cheek. They looked into each other's eyes. Deidara smiled at him. "Your face is smooth."

Hidan, acting on impulse, touched Deidara's cheek with his hand, feeling his skin. "So's yours…" As he stared, that feeling inside him increased. Willing him to…

Deidara moved closer, now sitting in Hidan's lap.

"So… what do we do now?"

Deidara giggled, playing with his blond hair. "I have a couple ideas…" he said suggestively.

That was all he could handle. He couldn't take it anymore. That feeling was clouding his judgment. He wanted to do it, so help him, he would. He had urges and he as going to give into them. He couldn't fight it. Losing all sense, Hidan moved forward, holding Deidara tightly. If he were in his right mind, he would stop himself right here and run away. If he knew what he was about to do, he would bludgeon himself over the head right now for even thinking of it.

Itachi peered around the corner again. Part of him had a feeling they wouldn't go through with it, but the other half knew they had no choice. They were hypnotized to love each other, so they would. They couldn't help themselves. To hell with their personalities and proper sense. They would do it as commanded.

Sure enough, they did. Hidan moved even closer and pressed his lips against Deidara's. Deidara returned the kiss, moaning with pleasure.

Itachi's jaw dropped. "I can't believe they did it. God, I love hypnosis…"

Hidan ran his hand through Deidara's hair as he kissed him. Deidara bent his knees, wrapping one around Hidan's waist. He hugged Hidan's neck with both arms, deepening the kiss. After a few seconds, they parted for air. Hidan panted, thankful he gave in to that urge. It turned out to be better than he expected. Deidara sat back, leaning away from Hidan while holding on to his shoulder with one arm.

"That all you got? I thought you knew how to kiss," he teased the older.

Hidan looked at him. "What? That wasn't enough for you?"

"Hell no. I enjoyed it but it was like, so what? I wanted to feel in that kiss everything I feel for you."

Smiling, Hidan grabbed Deidara's hips and pulled him in closer. "Oh, yeah? Then how's this?" His lips came crashing down on Deidara's mouth in a passionate kiss. Deidara's eyes grew impossibly wide and gave a tiny yelp of surprise. Supporting Deidara's back with his hand and keeping a hold of his hips with the other, Hidan leaned into the kiss and slipped his tongue between the blond's teeth. Deidara's eyes rolled back and he went completely limp.

Itachi fell to the floor, holding his mouth shut with both hands. His eyes started to fill with tears, holding back his laughter.

After a full minute of nonstop kissing, Hidan pulled away, a trail of saliva leading from his lips to Deidara's. Deidara's eyes opened though he seemed too weak to hold himself up, relaying on Hidan to hold him up. "Wow…" he breathed. "That was… Damn, that had passion!"

Hidan smirked. "Like that?"

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Sitting sideways across Hidan's lap, Deidara smoothed his hair back and cuddled him. "So… Round two?"

With a chuckle, Hidan started to kiss Deidara again.

Crossing from the other side of the room from another hall came Kakuzu. As he passed through the sitting room, he noticed two people on the couch kissing. And they looked a lot like…

"Oh, hell no!"

Itachi was rolling around in the hallway, laughing silently. This was the most fun he had had in a long time.

Kakuzu stood in front of them, staring. "What the hell is going on here?"

The two looked up, holding each other. They exchanged looks and started giggling. "Isn't he the cutest?"

Kakuzu's head was spinning. Before anything else could scar him for life, he started walking quickly to the next hall. He passed by Itachi who was rolling around, trying not to laugh out loud. Kakuzu stared at him then continued on his way, shaking his head. "Must be a full moon or something…"

Hidan was playing with Deidara's hair, running his fingers through each lock gingerly. He started coiling the hair around his finger. Deidara turned away, coyly. This action motivated Hidan to start kissing his neck. He gave him gentle kisses between his collar bone and jaw. He felt Deidara tense up at his touch. It wasn't out of pain, but pleasure. Hidan kept kissing his soft neck. His skin felt like whipped cream beneath his lips.

Itachi was too engrossed in his peeping to notice the woman approaching behind him. By the time he did, it was too late. "What the hell did you do?!"

He jumped and rolled onto his back, looking up at her. Konan was standing above him, looking furious. "Hi," he grinned. Seeing no change in her expression, his smile began to fade. "What?"

She pointed at the new couple kissing on the couch. "What did you do?"

Itachi sat up and peered around the corner. It was all he could do to keep from laughing. "I'm having a little fun." Konan was glaring at him. "I just wanna see somebody do it!" he whined like a spoiled child.

"What on earth possessed you to do something that disgusting?"

He shrugged. "Because every hypnosis story has to have a bit of yaoi. Everyone knows that. I mean, they would never do it normally so… Hey, someone had to give them a little push."

"Reverse it now."

"Oh, come on! They're both quiet and they're not hurting anyone. What's the big deal?"

Konan looked at the two on the couch, lip wrestling. As long as their mouths were busy doing that, then they wouldn't be able to complain. "Fine. But only for a little while. If this starts to get out of hand, change them back, understood?"

"Yes, mom." Itachi started snickering. Maybe taking away his guilt was a bad call.

* * *

I think I like this Itachi better. Oh, who am I kidding? Itachi is awesome no matter what! ^-^

Please review!


	17. You're A Sick Man

**Chapter 17: You're A Sick Man**

Itachi was very satisfied with the results between Hidan and Deidara. He was even more pleased to hear news that they had decided to spend the night in the same room, sharing a bed. Itachi smiled to himself, too excited to sleep. He couldn't wait to do more.

There was a quiet knock on his door and then it opened. Kisame poked his head into the room. His eyes were in line with the door knob, indicating that he was on his knees. "Psst! Itachi? You awake?" He crawled into the room on his hands and knees, creeping around in the dark. He knelt by his partner's bed, looking up at him with frightened eyes. "Itachi?"

"What is it?"

Kisame's eyes shifted nervously. "I can't sleep. Not in that room. With that… s- sword." He was scared to death of it. "C- can I sleep in here with you?"

"Sure, but you get the floor."

"Ok. Thanks."

Itachi threw him a pillow and the old blanket at the foot of his bed. Kisame curled up, making a nest out of the blanket and pillow. He looked like a dog, curled up in a ball on the floor like that. Itachi rolled over trying to get some rest. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

* * *

The windowless building made it impossible to tell if it was morning or not. All the Akatsuki members had to go on were their own watches and the dusty clocks mounted on the wall, or in Hidan's case, broken on the floor. Hidan was less cranky when he got more sleep, but the boredom balanced it out, making him just as irritable as if he hadn't slept at all.

This morning, he woke up in a good mood, a nice warmth pressed up against his bare chest. He opened his eyes in the dark room, looking down at the ninja sleeping in his arms. Deidara's back was to him and Hidan had a hold of him from behind, pressing their bodies together. Hidan shifted his leg, his knee pressing into Deidara's kneecap. Deidara turned his head, burying his face in the pillow they were sharing. He was stubborn about his sleep. Who could blame him? Sleeping in Hidan's strong arms was very pleasant.

Hidan blew in Deidara's ear. He moaned and shivered. His blue eyes opened and he turned to look over his shoulder at Hidan. They smiled at each other. "Morning."

"Good morning."

Hidan held him tighter, hugging him. Deidara yawned and tried to move his body away to stretch. Something pulled the hair on the back of his head. He was tangled in Hidan's necklace. "Sorry about that." Hidan pulled it free, keeping most of his hair intact. To make it up to him, Hidan planted a kiss in Deidara's neck. He giggled, twisting away. "Don't be coy. Even if it is cute."

"It tickles." Deidara sat up, looking over the damage from last night. Both were topless but their pants were still on. They weren't that frisky. He felt Hidan's cold hand brushing up and down his bare back along his spine. "Stop that," he giggled.

Hidan pouted playfully and sat up himself. "You hungry?"

"Starved." Deidara gathered up his clothes and started to get dressed.

Hidan slid off the bed and opened the door. "Meet you there. I gotta use the bathroom."

Deidara looked up and watched him leave. Now that he was gone, he only wanted to be with him. He fought the impulse to chase after him and finished dressing. Maybe he could get to the kitchen and make him breakfast. Wouldn't that be romantic? Surely Hidan would be impressed.

The blond ran straight to the kitchen and grabbed a pan from the counter, ignoring the three already sitting at the table. Konan and Itachi looked up, seeing him run frantically around the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking."

"Cooking what?"

"Don't know yet." Deidara set the pan down and looked at them. "You guys know what Hidan likes for breakfast?"

"Some sort of meat, I'm sure." Itachi looked down at Kisame at his side. His poor partner was still terrified to use his knife to cut up his food. Itachi didn't pity him at all. He thought it was funny.

Something crashed and everyone spun around. Deidara had dropped the pan on the floor along with a bowl and two other plates.

"Just make some bacon. He'll eat that."

"I'll burn it!" Deidara wailed. "I can't cook, hn." He picked the pan off the floor and stuck himself over the head with it, nearly knocking himself out. "Ow! Damn it…"

The door opened and Hidan sat down at the table. His eyes were on Deidara who was still trying to find something to serve him. Thinking fast, he grabbed Itachi's plate and shoved it in front of him. "Breakfast is served, my love."

Kisame looked up when he heard those words. They sounded genuine. Not derogative at all. He saw the two men on the other end of the table making goo-goo eyes at each other and suddenly lost his appetite. He got up from the table to take care of his half-eaten plate.

Hidan stabbed a piece of bacon with his fork, smiling. "This looks good, hot stuff." She playfully slapped Deidara's backside with his open hand.

Kisame's plate slipped from his hands and shattered on the floor.

Deidara giggled and picked he bacon off Hidan's fork and started to fed it to him from his hand. "Only the best for you, honey-bunch. Though, I think I'd much rather call you a devil or something more fitting after what you did with me last night."

Hidan licked Deidara's fingers clean and swallowed the bacon. "I'd stick my fork in you but I'm not done with you yet."

Kisame started gagging and ran from the kitchen. "I'm gonna hurl. I gonna be sick!" He couldn't handle hearing or seeing those two any longer. He couldn't bare it.

Konan looked at Itachi who was smiling, pleased with his work. She leaned close to him and hissed in his ear. "Ok, this has got to stop."

"Are you kidding?' he whispered back. "This is good stuff. Can you imagine them doing this? Ever?"

"This is wrong and immoral and disgusting. Reverse this!"

"If you don't like it so much, why don't you do it?"

"Because I don't know what you did. I don't want to take a chance and mess it up. You did it, you fix it."

Itachi looked at the two men slurping up a runny egg together and sighed disappointedly. "I guess…"

"Fix it. Now."

"I'll do it, I'll do it. Just not now when who knows who will come in and see? I'll do it later."

"Don't wait too long. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

"Don't worry. I'll fix this. They'll be relatively normal by the afternoon. I promise." Itachi held up his hand, as if swearing an oath. "Trust me."

_Trust him_, Konan thought. _Yeah right_.

* * *

Deidara and Hidan sat on the couch together, cuddling. Hidan kept playing with the blonde's hair while he traced circles in Hidan's chest with his fingertips. The open coat gave Deidara easy access. After a few mellowing minutes of massages and snuggles, Hidan leaned over and started to chew on Deidara's earlobe. Gently at first, then the grinding grew rough. Deidara tensed up from the pain but he didn't mind. The hypnosis he was under made him respond positively to whatever Hidan did to him as a sign of affection. Visa versa, Hidan couldn't help but do these affectionate touches and enjoy it. Neither of them could help it. To them, this was bliss.

That was about to change in the next minute. Itachi watched from the doorway, waiting for his chance and taking his time in doing it. He wanted to see just how much he could milk this. How much further were they going to go? What would they do next? He was dying to know. But knowing that Konan would never stop nagging him if he didn't reverse this soon weighed heavily on his mind. That was much worse than anything he could think of.

Deidara yelped as Hidan crunched down on his earlobe quite painfully. He was getting a little too rough. "If you keep that up, I'll be able to call this a piercing." Deidara massaged his bleeding ear with his thumb and index finger.

"Sorry, can't help it." Hidan licked the blood off Deidara's ear and started to nibble on his neck instead.

"Remember to be CA! Careful…" He cried out when Hidan's biting became too rough for him to ignore. "Be gentle with me. Take it easy."

"Aw, I know you love it…" Hidan bit him again and he felt Deidara tense up again. Smirking he continued. Deidara, turned on by his partner's lips, slipped his hand into his open jacket and started to rub Hidan's warm skin. He leaned into his kissing and nibbling, loving it. His body was starting to heat up. Hidan's as well. He could feel it under his palm. He gasped when Hidan started to go lower, licking his flesh. He shivered and started to breathe deeply and quickly. Wanting to return his rough affection, Deidara started to scratch Hidan's back with his nails, leaving behind long pink and white claw marks. Hidan moaned pleasurably. He licked the sweat off Deidara's exposed shoulder and started to unbutton his coat.

"Ahem."

Both jumped and parted at once, looking up. Itachi was standing in front of them wearing a smug grin on his face.

"What the hell?!" Deidara barked. "We're trying to have a moment here if you don't mind!" Why did Itachi have to intrude? His hatred of him deepened.

"Yeah, get lost," added Hidan.

"Just a second, just a second…" Itachi said holding up his hands to calm them. "I just want to do something real quick, then I'll be on my way."

"Oh, yeah? What?"

His smile deepened wickedly and he clapped his hands. "Deidara, sleep." He snapped his fingered. "Hidan, sleep."

The two slumped against each other, out like a light. Itachi smiled, seeing their heads resting against each other's, propping them up. They looked very comfortable.

"Now, when you wake up, you will no longer be attracted to each other. The last command you received you will forget. Is that clear?"

They both nodded, falling into the other's chest.

There was no way Itachi was going to let them off that easy. There must have been something fun he could do to them. After a moment, he had an idea. But first things first. He snapped his fingers. "Awake. And up and at 'em."

Their heads lifted and their eyes opened. They both look like they had just woken up from a nap. Their heads turned and spotted each other. They looked down, then back up again.

"Why am I on your lap?" asked Deidara. "And why is my ear bleeding?"

Hidan frowned. "Why do I taste salt and copper?"

"Why is my coat open?"

"And why do you have a hicky? A bunch of 'em."

Deidara pointed. "So do you. Look. There's one right there."

Itachi couldn't help but laugh. He knew seeing their reaction would be entertaining.

They sprang off the couch and started their separate ways, muttering to themselves in confusion. Itachi reached out to stop one of them from leaving.

"Not so fast, Hidan."

He glared at Itachi. "What do you want?"

He snapped his fingers again. "Sleep."

Hidan fell against him in an immediate trance.

Itachi smiled to himself, holding him. This was going to be fun. "Ok, Hidan. When you wake up from your trance, I want you to…"

* * *

What's he going to do now? D:

Please review! ^-^


	18. Freaky and Sleepy

**Chapter 18: Freaky and Sleepy **

Itachi entered the kitchen, finding Konan sitting at the table drinking tea. She looked up, giving him an annoyed look. "Well?"

"Call off your dogs. I fixed it."

"Really?" She sounded skeptic.

"I swear on my life, those two are no longer attracted to each other. Promise."

"Good." She handed him a teacup. "Want something to drink?"

"Sure, why not?" As Itachi sat down, he noticed someone else in the room with them. In fact, he was sitting across from them at the table. Sasori was so quiet and still, it was hard to notice him at all. He looked deep in thought so it was apparent that he hadn't heard a word they were saying. He leaned over to talk to Konan. "What's with him?"

"How should I know? He hasn't said two words to me since I got here. I've been ignoring him."

Sasori had his head tilted downward, looking at the table. His face was serious, frowning in deep thought. Itachi waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked, startled and looked up. "Huh?"

"Are you ok?"

"Uh… Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Sasori looked down again.

"What's the matter with you?"

"I…" Sasori began. "I just… I can't shake the feeling that I'm forgetting something. I feel like I've forgotten something important or something… But I just can't think of it."

Ever since yesterday, Sasori couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. It was as if a chunk of his memory was ripped from his mind. He had been trying to remember all this time but he couldn't. He knew he was missing something but what could it be? It was mind-boggling. What could it be? What was he forgetting? Something happened. He knew it. But what? What?

The door opened and in came Hidan. Itachi grinned. "Hey. What's up?"

He grunted and poured himself a glass of water. He drank it and started to leave. Then he noticed Itachi's smiling face and stopped. "What?"

"Nothing."

He frowned. "Then stop staring at me like that."

"How should I stare at you?"

"Knock it off."

Itachi grinned wider. "So where's Deidara?"

"How the he- heck should I know?" That was the most he could manage. He still couldn't cuss. "Why should I care?"

"Do you think you could do me a favor and..?"

Hidan slammed his hands on the table, jarring Sasori and making him look up in surprise. "Listen here, you! I'm no one's servant! I don't do favors!"

"At least calm down," said Konan calmly.

"No way, woman! I'm already ticked! I'm not doing nothing!"

Itachi pulled something out of his coat. "Not even for this?"

Hidan turned and his eyes widened. Itachi held up a small plush pink pony. He fell apart at once and cooed. "Ooooh! Where'd you get that?"

"I found it in one of the rooms and dusted it off for you. Gave me a few… creative ideas." He winked at Konan who glared at him.

Hidan's eyes twinkled and he reached for the pony plush. "It's so cute! It's the cutest thing I ever did see! I can't resist! Give it to me!"

As he made a grab for it, Itachi pulled it away. "Ah-ah-ah… Not so fast. I still require a favor from you."

"Give it to me or I'll rip your head off!" Hidan leaned over the table, reaching for it with both hands.

Konan rolled her eyes. "Itachi just give it to him. The favor will be that he leaves the room. Ok?"

"Fine." He handed over the plush.

Hidan grabbed the pink pony and squeezed it lovingly in his arms. "Oooh! The cutest, sweetest thing ever!" He started kissing the plush and skipped out of the room, Sasori watching him with an open mouth.

Konan shot a look at Itachi. He shrugged. "What? I said I would make them relatively normal again. All you asked me to do was make them not love each other anymore. I did that. But you never said I couldn't do more to them afterwards."

She groaned. He found a loophole.

"Hey!" Seeing this caused a few lost memories to resurface in Sasori's mind. "Wait a minute, you two! You hypnotized me!"

They flinched and looked at him. Konan tried to play innocent. "What are you talking about?"

"In my room yesterday! While we were talking! It was all a trick, wasn't it? You used hypnosis on me, didn't you?"

"What? I did no such thing."

"You did the same thing to Hidan, too. Why else would he act like this?"

"Because he loves his little pony?" Itachi muttered.

Sasori got up from the table. "I'm informing him and letting him know what's what right now."

"W- wait! Sasori!" Konan jumped up, stopping him. "There's nothing to speak of."

"The hell there isn't. I'm marching right over-"

Konan tapped his forehead with her finger. "Sleep!"

Sasori looked like he was fighting to keep his eyes open, failing. His body swayed then fell over right into Konan's arms. He was surprisingly light. She sat him down at the table. Unable to sit up, Sasori's head fell against the table top and he lay quietly.

Konan sat down with a sigh. "We have to do something. No one else remembered being hypnotized. I had a feeling using this on a puppet would be nothing but trouble."

"I was the one who thought that first. But never mind. What do we do now? If we tell him to forget, he might remember anyway. How do we keep him from thinking?"

In a matter of moments, Konan had an idea. "Sasori, every time you try to remember hypnosis being used on you or the events that happened in your room between us… you… you will get really sleepy. Every time you try to remember these trances or lost memories, you will get sleepier and sleepier until you're too tired to think. You will be too tired and sleepy to think or care. Understand?"

He snored into the table.

Konan looked at Itachi. "Hopefully that will do it." She clapped her hands. "Awake."

Sasori sat up straight and looked around. "What just happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

He frowned, looking at them suspiciously. Then he let out a yawn and turned away blinking heavily.

"Are you feeling ok?" she asked him.

"… Yeah… I'm just feeling a little… tired for some reason. I'm alright." Sasori's eyes started to get heavy. No longer having the strength or will to get up and leave, he sat where he was and stared off into space, daydreaming.

Koana sighed again. "Looks like it works. I'm out of here."

Itachi watched her leave then followed after a minute. He wanted to see what else he could do for fun around here.

Sasori just sat there and drooled.

* * *

Kakuzu sat on the couch in the living room, reading a book he found. The print was hard to make out, but it was the only thing he could do around here. He was getting really, really bored. He felt someone sit beside him and looked to his right. Hidan was sitting next to him on the couch, stroking a pink pony. He cradled it in his arms and kissed its head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hidan looked up. "What?"

"That. What you're doing. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Then what's with the pony?"

Hidan hugged it tightly. "I happen to like pink ponies. Got a problem with it?"

"Since when do you like something that… you know…" Kakuzu gestured with his hand to the man and his plush. "Girly?"

Hidan pressed the toy to his chest. "It takes a true man to appreciate something like this. You wouldn't understand."

"You're a freak."

"Look who's talking!" He started to pat the pony and cooed into its plush ear. "Don't listen to him. He's an idiot."

"I'm the idiot? I'm not the one talking to a stuffed animal, for crying out loud!"

"I knew if I followed the yelling I'd find you." Itachi came around the corner, grinning at them.

Kakuzu frowned. "Speaking of freaky… Why the hell are you so happy all the time all of a sudden? What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

The partners looked down as if to say 'yeah, right' and ignored him.

"What?"

"Nothing," they answered together.

As Itachi moved forward, something came out of the ground by his feet. Zetsu emerged from the floorboards and made an announcement. "If you guys want lunch, come and get it. If you guys aren't down there in the next ten minutes, it goes off the table and it's every man for himself. Got it?"

"At least we're being fed." Kakuzu closed the book in his hand and tossed it down. "Let's go."

"You're not my boss." Hidan got up and followed him nevertheless.

Once in the kitchen, Itachi noticed that Kisame was already eating without him. Still refusing to touch a knife, he had started the new habit of eating with his hands if possible. He was eating a sandwich which wasn't too bad. But in the past, Itachi had seen him eating a steak with his hands. Sasori was still sitting at the table from where they had left him an hour ago. He was still looking quite out of it, staring off into the distance with a dazed look on his face. Everyone else was ignoring him, enjoying their meals.

The fighting began shortly after when Kakuzu tried to take the plush from Hidan's grasp. "No toys at the table."

"Shove it!" Hidan spat and pulled away, bumping into Kisame.

The shark ninja growled and turned to him. "Why don't you go back to making out with Deidara?"

Hidan choked and spun around. Deidara dropped his fork. "What?!" they shouted at once.

"You heard me. Make out again like before."

"How could you..? We didn't… We never did anything like that!" Deidara cried.

"Heck yeah! Please, with him?!" Hidan jerked a thumb at the blond. "I can do so much better."

Deidara turned. "You got something to say to me?!"

"Let's face it. You're no catch."

"Speak for yourself! What woman would want a psychopath like you?!"

Kakuzu, sensing what was about to come, took his plate with him and left the room. Zetsu looked at the two, half wanting to stay and watch and the other wanting to ignore them and leave.

"What did you say to me?!" Deidara snapped and threw a kunai at Hidan's head.

Kisame ducked and fled the room, shrieking in terror. "It's sharp! Sharp!"

Hidan grabbed the kunai in midair and returned it. "Watch your mouth and how you speak to me! Have a little respect!"

"I have plenty of damn respect! Just not for bastards like you who don't know when to shut the hell up!" He pulled the kunai out of the wall and threw it back at him.

"As if you could hurt me with this!" Hidan let the weapon hit him in the shoulder and pulled it out. "Come here and I'll show you how it's done!"

"Shut up!"

"You first!"

They began to throw weapons left and right, yelling and cursing, or in Hidan's case, trying and failing. Zetsu moved away from the table when dishes started to fly next. He bumped into Sasori who appeared oblivious to all that was happening around him.

"Are you ok?" asked the white half.

Sasori stifled a yawn. "Sleepy…"

"Ah." Zetsu dunked a bowl thrown by Hidan and moved aside, wanting little to do with this fight. "I'm out of here."

Konan's eye began to twitch as the fighting grew louder and more and more dishes were thrown. More food was wasted which meant another trip out to get more and more complaints that there was nothing to eat from the boys. A dish was sent flying into her face. She backed away from the table, rubbing her sore nose.

"The hell I look like a girl!"

"You do! Why don't you cut your hair, Deidara-chan!"

"I'll kill you!"

"Good freaking luck with that! Better men than you have tried! And I mean better men!"

"Shut up! I'll cut you open! I swear!"

"Try it!"

Another plate was sent into Konan's face. That was the last straw. She stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "That's it!" She clapped her hands and snapped her fingers. "Both of you, sleep!"

Their fight ended instantly at that trigger phrase and they both collapsed onto the table, out cold.

Konan sighed, wiping the remains of lunch off her face. "Now, both of you listen up. When you wake up, you will feel extremely tired and just want to sleep. You will go to bed at once and your exhaustion will only lift after you've taken a long nap. Understand?" That should keep them quiet for a while. She snapped her fingers. "Awake, and up and at 'em."

The two lifted their heads and looked around. Almost at once, Deidara's head fell against the table again, curling up. Hidan sat up but his head was bobbing. "I don't… feel so with it…" He rubbed his eyes. "Why do I feel so tired all of a sudden?"

"If you're tired then go to bed," said Konan. She was fed up with the fighting and yelling. Putting them to sleep for a while seemed like a good way she could get some peace.

Hidan started to get off the table. He was too tired to argue or question anything. He just wanted to go to bed and rest. He didn't have the strength to get off the table and sat there, his eyes drooping.

Deidara was already close to falling asleep right where he was. Konan prodded him on the ribs, trying to rouse him. "Too tired…" he mumbled, resting his head on a loaf of bread.

"You're not sleeping there. Up. Get up and go to bed."

He whined, batting at her hand. "Go 'way..! Tired..!"

"I know. So go to bed."

He whined again and rolled out of her reach. He rolled right off the table and onto the floor. He moaned for a moment then settled back down with a sigh.

"Not on the floor. Sleep in your bed." Konan looked around for something to help her. Then she spotted Itachi sitting right where he was, grinning. This was very amusing to him. "Since you think this is so funny, you deal with them."

"I don't see why they don't just sleep here."

"Take them to their rooms, now!"

"Fine, fine…" Itachi got up and grabbed Deidara off the floor and slung him over his shoulder. He pulled on Hidan's sleeve, trying to get him to follow. "Come on, big guy. Let's go."

Hidan looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Carry me..?"

"You've got to be…" He rolled his eyes. "Fine." Hidan leaned forward, expecting Itachi to carry him in his arms. Too heavy to handle. Itachi dropped him on the floor. "Oops."

"One second." Konan pointed to someone else. "Take him with you as well." She was pointing at Sasori, half asleep, still sitting at the table.

"Come on! All three of them?" He wasn't about to argue with her. Itachi grabbed Sasori around the middle and carried him under his arm. Then he bent down and grabbed Hidan by the back of his jacket and dragged him away. "You owe me."

Itachi dragged Hidan behind him as he carried Sasori under his other arm and Deidara over his shoulder. This was a lot to carry at once and humans weren't the easiest to carry in the first place. He didn't want to carry them all the way to their individual rooms. So he went to the first room he could find and went inside. He tossed Sasori down first, then Deidara. Then he picked up Hidan and tossed him onto the bed. To his surprise, he managed to hold onto that pink pony, holding it to his chest.

The Uchiha stepped back, examining his work. All three men were sprawled out on a single bed. Hidan and Deidara were already asleep. Sasori didn't look too far behind, his hooded eyes staring up at the ceiling absentmindedly. Itachi grinned. "This should be interesting. I've got to be around to see their reactions when they wake up."

Deidara rolled onto his side and started to cuddle Hidan in his sleep. Hidan clung to his new plush with one hand, the other wrapped around Deidara's hips. Sasori had given up and fell asleep, laying across Deidara's legs.

"Yeah. I definitely have to be around for that."

* * *

Again, if anyone has ideas, let me know ^-^

Please review!


	19. How Did That Happen?

**Chapter 19: How Did That Happen?**

Hidan tried to roll into a ball only to find that he couldn't. Something heavy was on his hip. He didn't mind too much. It was warm and this position felt pretty comfortable. But the weight on his hip was starting to become painful. He opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbow to look. He was in bed. Normal so far. But he had a blond bedfellow he wasn't aware of taking to bed with him.

"What the..?"

Deidara was laying flat on his back, using Hidan as a pillow. Sasori was sprawled out on top of him like a living blanket. Both of them appeared to be asleep.

Hidan frowned. He had half a mind to kill both of them right now, but he wanted answers. It was a lot easier to get information out of people when they were alive and able to speak. So he jabbed Deidara in the shoulder. "Hey, you, wake up."

The blond shifted with a moan. Then he grabbed Sasori's sleeve, pulling him further up his body to keep warm and tried to continue sleeping.

Hidan frowned again. Maybe he needed to be forceful. "Wake up, you idiots!"

Deidara sprang straight up at the same time Sasori did and the two collided heads with a loud thunk. Deidara flopped back down on Hidan holding his forehead in both hands. Sasori sat on his partner's lap, rubbing his head as well.

"Why were you two sleeping in my bed with me?"

"Huh?" Deidara turned his head, a red mark in the middle of his forehead. "What are you talking..?" He suddenly realized where he was and blinked. "What the hell am I doing in your bed?"

"That's what I'm asking."

Sasori looked around, now fully awake. "This is strange. How did we all end up in the same bed like this?"

"So none of you know?" Hidan demanded.

"I swear, I have no idea, hn." Deidara picked up one of the pillows and hit himself over the head with it. Out of everything he had hit himself with these past few days, this was the softest so he didn't complain.

Not wanting to stay in the same bed with each other, the three left the bedroom and walked aimlessly down the hall, desperate for answers.

"This isn't normal," said Hidan. "How did that happen? Why were we all together like that? It makes no sense."

"Yeah…" mumbled Deidara. "I don't even remember going to bed."

"Me neither," said Sasori.

"Come to think of it, neither do I." Hidan started thinking, trying to retrace his steps. "We were fighting at lunch, weren't we?"

"Yeah, we were. I can't remember about what. It was something stupid…"

"Maybe we knocked each other out?"

"Ha! I don't think you hit me that hard."

"Well, something happened." Hidan thought back. After the fight, then what happened? "Hmm… Hey, you know… I think I sort of remember Itachi."

"Itachi?"

"Yeah. I remember seeing him. But I can't remember anything else. I must have been half asleep or something…"

"So you think he had something to do with this?"

"Let's face it. The guy's been acting pretty weird lately."

"Hasn't everyone? Maybe this is what happens when guys like us spend too much time together. Or maybe there are fumes in the building that cause hallucinations."

"I doubt it… I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Itachi in some way. Why would I remember him and no one else?"

"I wouldn't put it past him, that jerk."

"You're only saying that because you don't like him."

"Who can stand the guy?"

Sasori suddenly gave a loud yawn and his footsteps started to slow.

"What's with you?"

He looked up at his partner. "I… I'm feeling a little sleepy…"

"You just woke up and now you're tired again? You've got to be kidding me, my man."

He rubbed his eyes. "You know what? I'm too tired to deal with this. You guys go on your hunt or whatever. I'm going back to my room. Good luck to the both of you." With that, Sasori turned and went back down the hall. He practically had to drag himself to his room.

"Jeez, something's wrong with him. He's always tired, hn." Deidara hit himself over the head with his tool bag. "Ow!"

"Stop doing that!"

"I can't help it! It's involuntary!"

Hidan turned to another hall he knew led straight to Itachi's room. "I think we have a bone to pick with this guy. I'm sure Itachi's doing something."

The two went to Itachi's room but found that he wasn't there. It was an empty room. "That's weird."

"What is?"

"Ahh!" Deidara spun around and saw Itachi standing directly behind them. "Don't do that! Creep."

The Uchiha smiled at them. "So… How was your sleepover?"

"Did you do that to us?" Hidan demanded.

"All I did was take you to your room. You're the ones who went into that position. I didn't place you there."

"We were asleep! We couldn't help how we ended up! Hn!" Deidara hit himself with the tool bag again. "Why is this happening to me?!"

Hidan pushed Deidara aside. "Listen, Itachi. I want answers. How did that happen to us? What went on in the kitchen?"

Itachi pulled something out from behind his back. "Are you sure you want answers? Wouldn't you like this instead?"

"I don't give… a… a…" Hidan's eyes widened at the pink pony Itachi held up. He had swiped it from the bed when no one was able to stop him. Hidan lost his train of thought and focused all his attention on the pony instead. "S- so cute..!"

"Let me ask you again. Are you sure..?" Itachi waved the plush in the air. Hidan's eyes followed its every move. "Are you sure you don't want this plush?"

"I…" Hidan couldn't resist that plush toy. It was so irresistible.

Itachi moved it from left to right with every word he spoke. "Are… you… sure… you… don't… want… this… plush?" He smiled when he saw Hidan follow its movements with an open mouth and sparkling eyes. "This cute, adorable, sweet, innocent, little, tiny, pink pony plush?" He wiggled it in front of his face. "Hmmm?"

He lost it. "G-give me that!" He grabbed the plush and hugged it tightly in his arms. "Sooo cute! My sweet, adorable little Applejacks..!"

Deidara stared at him in disbelief. "Applejacks?"

"Yeah. That's what I named her. Got a problem?"

"I thought you wanted answers!"

Hidan looked torn. Then he caught sight of the plush and melted once again. "Oh, who cares? As long as I have my cutie-"

Deidara snatched the pony from his hands.

"Give that back! Give it back or you die!"

"You're not thinking straight! Snap out of it!"

"My pony! Give me back my Applejacks!" Hidan made grabs for his beloved toy but Deidara was too quick. "Give her back!"

Itachi knew just how to stop this and get Hidan alone again for some additional fun. "By the way, Kakuzu said something about selling your clay a little while ago. Your door was open so…"

Deidara dropped the plush. "He what?!" He ran down the hall toward his bedroom. "I'll kill him if he so much as touches..!"

Hidan bent down and scooped up his pony, brushing it off. He gave it several kisses and hugged it lovingly. As he stood up, he saw Itachi staring at him. "What?"

He snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Hidan toppled over. Itachi half walked, half dragged him over to his bed and tossed him down. Hidan was still holding onto the plush, amazingly enough.

Itachi stepped back. "Now what to command him? I want it to be good. Let's see…"

He left Hidan on the bed as he thought. Surely there was no harm in doing so. He figured Hidan would just sleep away while he thought. After ten minutes had passed, nothing came to Itachi's mind. He had a whole list of commands but he wanted to pick the best one to use on him now. He was drawing a blank. Nothing seemed good enough. Another ten minutes passed and still nothing. This was harder than he thought.

At that moment, Konan passed by Itachi's open door and noticed him standing over a slumbering Hidan and knew something was up. She marched right in to give him a piece of her mind. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Nothing at the moment," he told her. "I can't think of anything."

"That is enough. Leave him alone."

"Why should I? I can't pass this up. This stuff will wear off after a week. I've got to use it now or it will all be wasted."

"But he's not doing anything. Stop exploiting him!"

"See? That's your problem. You just want to use it to keep everyone quiet. I want to use it to have some fun around here. I get bored, too, you know."

Konan grabbed Itachi's hand and tried to pull him away from the bed. "If you do too much someone's bound to suspect something. Be subtle. And stop using it to make fun of them."

"Like I said, you fail to realize what you've got here. Take advantage of it. Use it! You're too easy. At least I'm using it to its fullest and having some fun."

"I mean it, Itachi. If you keep this up, Hidan and the others will…" She stopped, looking at the bed.

"What?"

She pointed behind Itachi. "Wasn't Hidan just there a moment ago?"

"What do you mean a moment..?" Itachi turned around and saw exactly what she meant.

They were both looking at an empty bed, the pink plush pony laying by the pillow, completely alone. Hidan was gone.

* * *

Where the hell did he go?! What happened?!

Review please! ^-^


	20. Happy As Pie

**Chapter 20: Happy As Pie**

It felt strange to walk. It was like walking on a trampoline. He wasn't used to this. Hidan kept wobbling as he walked aimlessly down the hallway. He kept one arm out, running his hand along the wall as he went. His whole body felt weird. It was a strange feeling, but very enjoyable. He couldn't think. He didn't even know where he was. It was as if he were walking in a dream. This warmth, this fuzzy feeling… he must have been dreaming. This whole thing must have been a dream.

Kakuzu left his room and was making his way to the bathroom when he noticed Hidan staggering his way. He must not have seen him because he ran right into his partner without even trying to avoid him. Kakuzu helped him stand up again. "Are you ok?"

Hidan looked up at his face and started giggling.

"Hidan?"

He laughed even harder. Then he reached up and flicked his headband. "Shiny..!"

"Huh?" Kakuzu stood Hidan up and rubbed his forehead protector with his hand. "What..?"

Hidan was laughing again, now playing with his sleeves. He pulled at Kakuzu's sleeve and started chewing on it. His curious actions reminded Kakuzu of how an infant would behave.

"Are you feeling ok?"

Hidan took the sleeve out of his mouth and nodded vigorously. "Yup! I'm a-ok!" He slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Partner! Pal, old buddy of mine!"

Kakuzu stepped back and watched Hidan wobble down the hall, giggling to himself and mumbling something. His actions were strange but easily explained. "He must be wasted or something. There must be a stash of booze around here somewhere." He decided to let Hidan wonder off, giving it no further thought.

In the kitchen, Zetsu had just sat down to enjoy a glass of water. Everyone was elsewhere so now was the perfect time to enjoy a little peace and quiet. As he lifted the glass to his lips, he heard the door open and rolled his eyes. Now what? He turned to the side and saw Hidan standing there, looking up at the ceiling with an open mouth. He followed his gaze to the ceiling and, finding nothing out of the ordinary up there, looked back at Hidan who was still staring at it. He started to sip the water, watching him. Hidan never moved. He just stared at the ceiling as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

After two minutes of nonstop staring he felt the urge to ask him a few questions too much to ignore. "Ok. Hidan… what the hell is wrong with you?"

His head turned towards him. "Clamps!"

Zetsu flinched. "What?"

Hidan pointed at the green attachments to his head and started laughing. "You've got clamps! Ha ha! Clamps! You've got them there."

"What is up with him?" asked the white half.

"No idea," answered the black half. "But this guy's freaking me out."

"Yeah, me, too."

Hidan stumbled to the table and sat down beside Zetsu, staring at his head.

"What?"

He laughed and poked Zetsu's green clamps. "Poke, poke, poke…"

"Stop that."

"Haha..! Talking plant…"

"You're really starting to creep me out."

Hidan poked him again, giggling. Then he looked at the glass of water on the table, becoming more interested in that instead. He lowered his chin to the table and looked through the glass to the other side of the kitchen, the images distorted. Finding that funny for some odd reason, Hidan started to poke the glass with his finger and watched the water sway from side to side in the glass. He giggled and kept it up.

Zetsu sat there and watched him, annoyed and confused. "This guy's high off something…"

Suddenly, Hidan wrapped his arms around Zetsu's body and hugged him. "Planty!"

"Get off me!" shouted the black half.

"Planty!"

"Get off, I said!"

Hidan started licking Zetsu's robe, mumbling something about celery.

Just as Zetsu was preparing to kill him, the door flew open and in came Itachi and Konan. "Zetsu, have you seen..?" They stopped once they saw the very person they were looking for clinging to Zetsu's body.

Zetsu's eyes lit up the moment he saw Konan and smiled. The moment he saw her, everything was alright. He was happy to have her here.

Konan stepped forward and put her hands on Hidan's hips, pulling him off Zetsu's body. "Zetsu, do you think you can ignore all this and treat it like it never happened?"

"Sure! Anything for you. Not a problem." Zetsu was happy to please her in anyway he could. Ignoring this incident was nothing he couldn't do. He dismissed the whole thing.

Konan and Itachi picked up Hidan and carried him out of the kitchen and into the living room. No one was around so it should have been safe. "How in the world did he get all the way out here in the first place? I thought he was in a trance."

"So did I."

Hidan jumped up, throwing his arms in the air. "Birds!"

"What?"

"Birds!"

Konan turned him around. "What are you talking about?"

He started laughing and sucked on his necklace.

It all made sense to Konan after a few moments. "I see what's going on here. He's still in a trance."

"If that's the case then why isn't he asleep?" asked Itachi.

"That's easy." Konan tried to keep Hidan from wandering off again, holding him around the middle as he wiggled and twisted. "Have you ever been put under for surgery?"

"Why?"

"Don't you know what that's like? The drugs they give you are supposed to put you to sleep, but they make you loopy for a while. A trance is just an awake sleep. I think you left him in a trance for too long without giving him anything to do, resulting in this."

"So… he's still under? Just loopy in the head?"

"That's my point. Ow!" Hidan elbowed her in the jaw. "We just have to calm him down again and get him to fall back asleep. He's still in a dreamlike state. He's still under. Ow!" He hit her again. Konan turned Hidan around and tried to get him to look at her. "Hidan. Calm down and look at me."

He sucked on his necklace, looking up at the ceiling.

"Hidan, focus on me, ok? Listen to me."

He looked down and giggled, poking her piercing. "You have a shiny."

"Look at me, Hidan, and listen."

He giggled again, his eyes not fully focused on anything. "You're pretty."

"Calm down ok? Go to sleep."

"Don't wanna!" he whined.

"It's ok. It's ok. You're having a dream, ok? You're just having a dream."

He looked at her face again. "A dream?"

"That's right. You're dreaming. Now settle down and go back to sleep."

Hidan looked into her eyes and was instantly calm down. He stared.

"Go back to sleep."

His eyes started to droop.

"That's it. Go to sleep."

Hidan's eyes closed and he fell against Konan's chest.

She wrapped her arms around his back, supporting him. "That's it. Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep…" Hearing Hidan snore, she knew he was back under control. She managed to carry him over to the couch and set him down. "All yours."

"Thanks." Itachi moved closer to Hidan, wearing a mischievous grin.

"And no more yaoi!"

"Why? But it's funny!"

"If you do it to him, I'll do it to you."

That shut him up fast. "Fine. Killjoy." Itachi looked down at Hidan as Konan stood behind him, making sure he didn't do anything terrible to their fellow Akatsuki member. Knowing that she was there spoiled his fun. How could he make Hidan do something really funny if she was standing right behind him, watching his every move? Perhaps he should go off and find someone else or wait until they were alone again then try it.

"Oh, wait. I've got an idea." It was better than nothing. Hopefully Konan wouldn't find fault with it. "Hidan, whenever you hear someone say the word 'clay', you will… insult Deidara. Insult him in anyway you can. Insult him in someway. You will say something bad about him whenever you hear the word 'clay'. Understand?"

He nodded.

"Good. And awake!" He snapped his fingers.

Hidan sat up on the couch wondering how he had gotten there in the first place.

"I guess it's better than what I thought you were going to do." Konan sighed. "Just try to keep it under control, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am." Itachi started walking away. This would be fun. Now he just had to find someone else and make it even better. This was going to be a fun dinner for sure.

* * *

"Hey, what's up, Kisame?"

The shark ninja turned around. "Hey, Itachi. Nothing much. Why?"

"No reason. Waterfall."

Kisame's eyes closed and he fell against the wall, propped up on his shoulders.

"Now Kisame… Every time you hear someone say the word 'partner', your leg will kick straight out. Got it? Awake." Itachi snapped his fingers and Kisame opened his eyes. "I was just passing by. Just a little bored."

"Oh. Ok." Kisame tilted his head to one side. "Is that why you're acting off?"

"What do you mean off?"

"Well, it's just that you seem…"

Deidara ran down the hall, right between the two partners.

"Watch where you're going!" yelled Kisame.

"Shut up, shark boy. There's a pie in the kitchen."

"There is?"

"Yup. I'm getting to it first before Hidan and Kakuzu have at it. Gotta be fast around here." Deidara continued his run.

Itachi smiled to himself. It looked like he wouldn't have to wait until dinner after all to see the results of his command spree.

* * *

Everyone was piled into the kitchen. Even Sasori, who was only there because he could people watch. Konan was a pretty good cook when she was given something to work with. She had made a pie and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Akatsuki took notice and gathered around the table for a slice. Boys were boys no matter what. They could eat at any time, day or night and they all swarmed around food like vultures. As soon as the pie was out and cooling, everyone was sitting at the table, staring at her with empty plates and forks.

"What?"

"Food?" asked Hidan innocently. He was hungry and so was everyone else.

"It's still hot."

"I don't care."

"Fine. Then eat at your own risk." She set the hot pie on the table and watched Hidan and the others attack it.

Kisame reached forward but once he saw the knife in Hidan's hand, he backed off. Deidara gave instructions for where he wanted Hidan to cut while Kakuzu ordered him to give him the biggest piece he could. Zetsu stayed out of the way, admiring Konan as she stood there, shaking her head. Itachi pointed to the piece he wanted and Hidan threatened to strangle him if he didn't move away from him in the next two seconds.

Then the arguments started. Unsatisfied with how his partner was cutting, Kakuzu offered to do it himself. Hidan pulled the pie out of his reach and continued to divide it up his way. Deidara kept pointing at the pie, giving his orders and telling Hidan to give him a certain piece and before anyone else.

"I'll cut off your finger if you keep pointing like that! I swear I will!"

"Then give me the thing."

"I'm fine! Leave me alone."

"That piece is too big. And look how you cut it. It's totally uneven."

"Who cares?!"

"I do, now give me the knife and I'll show you how it's done."

"Back off, Kakuzu."

"I said I want that piece, right there. You listening? That one there."

"Shut up! We heard you."

"Plate that one. Did you hear me? I said-"

"We heard you the first twelve times! Be quiet!"

"Don't yell at me!"

"Take your stupid piece of pie and shut up."

"That's not the one I wanted."

"Take it and be happy you got it! If it were up to me, I'd throw it on the floor right now!"

"You are such an S.O.B., you know that?"

"Likewise." Hidan distributed the pieces of pie to the others. Deidara tried to look and see who got the piece he wanted so that he could switch. Kakuzu had already grabbed the biggest piece for himself, yanking it out of Kisame's hands. It was easy to do, considering he had a knife in his other hand. Kisame backed off immediately. "Everyone happy now?"

"Not really."

"Tough."

Hidan took a bite. As soon as it touched his tongue, his mouth opened wide, eyes filling with tear. "Hot! Hot, hot, hot!"

"I warned you."

He quickly swallowed, refusing to look at her. "It cooled off. Now that it's cut, it'll cool a lot faster..."

They started eating. It was then that Konan noticed Kakuzu taking the remains of the pie for himself. He still had his slice but wanted to have the lion's share, as it seemed. When Kisame complained about this, Kakuzu held up the knife and he hid behind Itachi for safety. Konan didn't have a piece of her own. She figured that she would get whatever was left. It seemed a shame not to eat her own creation.

Remembering the phrase, she stood beside Kakuzu. "So… does anyone know what the weather is supposed to be like?"

"What does it matter? We're all stuck here for the next few days. We're not going outside until the week is up, remember?" said Hidan.

"I know," she went on. "It's just that I heard we were going to have a rainy day."

Kakuzu's eyes glazed over and he lowered his fork. The trigger phrase was spoken. Now he would do anything Konan told him to do.

"Kakuzu, could I please have that last piece of pie? I didn't get any."

Without looking down, he picked up the pie plate and handed it to her submissively. "Sure. Here you go."

"Thank you." She took it from him and picked up a fork.

Sasori looked over at them, curious. Kakuzu was being unusually cooperative. He was usually more selfish than this, wasn't he? Why would he do anything Konan asked of him? He would normally complain. He was being so submissive. As Sasori thought of it, his mind started to fog and he found it harder to think. This got him wondering, too. Why was this happening to him? What was the cause for this random bursts of exhaustion? As he thought more about that, his thoughts grew even more cloudy. Soon he was spacing out, daydreaming.

Now that Itachi was halfway through with his slice of pie, it was time for the entertainment portion of the afternoon. "So, Deidara…"

He groaned, looking up, fork paused in front of his open mouth. "Ugh… What?"

"The medium you work with, for your art… what material do you work with again?"

"Duh. Clay."

"Deidara's an idiot!" Hidan squawked out like a trained parrot.

The blond looked across the table at him. "Hey!"

"What?" Hidan looked confused.

"That was uncalled for! Jerk!"

"What? What'd I do?"

Itachi smiled. It was working. "So you don't work with anything else, Deidara? Like stone or wood or something?"

"I told you, I work with clay."

"Deidara's a klutz!"

"Shut up, Hidan!"

"What?! I didn't do anything!"

This was interesting. It appeared that Hidan wasn't conscious of these outbursts. He wasn't aware that he was doing anything.

"So…" Itachi went on. "All those sculptures… none of them are carved from stone or whatever?"

"No. Just clay."

"Deidara looks like a girl!"

"Would you shut your freaking mouth?! Knock it off!"

"Knock what off?!"

"Take it easy, Deidara," said Kisame. "He's only stating the truth."

"You wanna die?! I'll fillet you right here!"

All these outbursts… all these people acting weird… This was out of the ordinary. Something must have been going on. What was the cause of all this? Sasori's head started to bob, feeling even more drained of energy the more he thought about it.

Itachi smiled. Time to see if the other command had worked. "Hey, Deidara, what's up with your partner?"

Kisame's leg jerked out, kicking Deidara under the table.

"Ow!" He pulled his leg up, examining his shin. "What the hell, man?!"

"What?"

"You kicked me!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Well, someone sure as hell did! And you were pissed off at me before!"

"If I did, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Itachi tried not to laugh, as much as he wanted to. This was too funny! "So what's up with your partner?"

"Well, he- Ow!" Deidara bent forward, clutching his knee. "Kisame!"

"What? I didn't do it!"

"The hell you didn't!" Deidara looked back at Sasori. "I have no idea. He's been really tired recently. I guess he's been working late every night or something along those lines. I have no idea."

"You like having him as a partner?"

"It's ok- Ow! I swear to God, I'll tear your legs off!"

"I'm not doing anything!"

"Here." Itachi stood up. "Switch with me."

Kisame stood up and started to switch seats with Itachi. As he started to sit down, Itachi noticed that his body was turned slightly to one side. This should be good.

"There you go, partner."

Kisame's leg kicked straight out, booting Hidan from behind. "Hey!"

"S-sorry! It was involuntary, I swear!"

Konan looked up at Itachi. "I'm sure it was."

Even though she was glaring at him, Itachi didn't mind at all. This was fun! "Sorry about my partner."

Kisame kicked Hidan again.

"Ow! Stop it!"

"Sorry! Reflex."

"So's this!" Hidan threw a punch at Kisame who dodged.

Itachi pulled his comrade aside and sat him down at the table. "Sorry about him. It must be nerves. The clay-user's at fault for that."

"Deidara sucks!"

"Quit insulting me!"

"How did I insult you?!"

Sasori's head banged against the tabletop. Everyone turned. He was snoring.

"Jeez, the guy really is tired."

"Maybe he got into Deidara's clay…"

"Deidara's annoying!"

"Shut the hell up!"

Konan moaned. This was getting out of hand. And she had a certain Uchiha to blame for that.

* * *

Please review!


	21. My Little Puppet

**Chapter 21: My Little Puppet **

It was obvious that Itachi was going to take things too far eventually. As of now, Konan could tolerate it. He wasn't doing anything dangerous to the others. The biggest risk was the others finding out that they were under post hypnotic suggestion. However, from what Konan could tell, the blame would be focused on Itachi only. Deidara already hated him so naturally he would blame him if something went wrong. Hidan had taken notice that Itachi always seemed to be around whenever something strange occurred. At the moment, neither of them chose to act on it. It was only a theory to them. Only Konan knew the whole truth. She had managed to keep Sasori from remembering what had happened to him for the time being but it was only a matter of time before something happened. She wasn't sure what that entailed, but she didn't want to be ostracized because of it. Especially since she wasn't the only one at fault. She didn't want to be faulted when Itachi had a hand in it, too. He was the one taking it too far when all she wanted was peace among the group. He was the one having too much fun with it.

Konan stood outside Sasori's room debating whether to go in or not. She wanted to make sure everything was secure with him on the matter. She had to make sure that he didn't remember anything and wouldn't tell anyone what had happened. She had to make sure the commands were still in place.

She knocked.

"It's open."

She opened the door. Sasori had his back to her, placing one of his puppets against the back wall. He stepped back, admiring his work then turned around, facing her.

"Yes?"

"Hi."

"Hello."

Konan walked further into the room. "Is everything ok in here? I saw you hit your head on the table in the kitchen."

"Yeah…" He looked at the floor. "I guess I was pretty tired. I fell asleep right there. I'm awake now. Don't worry about it."

"Sure. Sure…" She looked at the puppet sitting against the wall. It looked really creepy.

"Is this going somewhere?"

"Hm?" She looked up again.

"It's just that I have things to do and I hate waiting. Was there something you wanted?"

"Oh. Well, uh…" She looked away. "I just wanted to make sure everything was ok with you. That's all."

"I'm doing better than the others, that's for sure." Sasori bent down and picked a rag off the floor. "Have you seen the lunatics running around this place? It's a madhouse." He started to polish the arm of his puppet.

"Yeah. It has gotten a little out of hand. I'll admit that."

"I'm surprised no one's killed anybody yet. It would be a lot quieter."

"True, but death seems a bit harsh, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I'd do it. I mean, isn't that what you do to people who annoy you? Get rid of them."

"I know that," she said. "But annoying or not, they're still our teammates. It's bound to get crowded."

"So? You can always get more teammates."

Konan frowned. "Have you always been this morbid? What if Deidara were to die? Wouldn't you be upset?"

"No."

"You won't miss him?"

"Not really. He's there to assist me. Anyone could do that. And maybe I'll get a new partner who agrees with me and we'll see eye to eye more than Deidara ever could. That's how I see it."

"So…" she said slowly. "Even if your own partner were to die, you wouldn't be upset by his loss?"

"We're ninja. It kind of comes with the job. Anyone can die in the next few moments. Why get attached?"

"I don't know about you, but I care about my teammates and my partner. I'm upset when I lose someone close to me, even knowing the job we're in."

"And what does that accomplish?" Sasori stopped polishing and looked at her. "It's a waste of time. Why bother?"

"Come on, Sasori. It's called 'love'. Don't you have people you love in your life? People who are close to you?"

"Sure. Let me introduce you." Sasori pointed to the puppet behind his back. "Meet my mother. And over there's father." He pointed to the puppet sitting in the armchair nearby. "These are the ones I'm close to."

"But they're puppets."

"So?" he said. "They show me the same amount of love I received growing up. The only difference is that these ones don't go anywhere if I don't want them to." Sasori looked down. It wasn't a sad look. Just distant.

He was distant. From everyone. He wasn't close to anyone because no one was close to him. He didn't know what it was like to be loved. His own parents never showed him any kind of love or affection so how was he expected to? That must have been why he thought of people as expendable. He was never attached. He didn't know how to be.

It made Konan sad to know this. This poor man didn't know what it was like to be loved so he couldn't love anyone either. The only thing he cared about were his puppets. He could make them do whatever he wanted. They were always there for him because they couldn't go anywhere without him. He still needed a parent's love but didn't know how to imitate it. He never felt it. It was something he couldn't create. But he still had needs. That must have been why he would wrap himself up in his puppets. He was seeking comfort. How sad. Konan pitied him.

"So that's it, huh? You were never shown love so you don't know how to love. No one was close to you so you can't get close to anyone either. How sad."

He looked up. "Huh? Sad? I don't think so. I'm pretty happy like this. It doesn't bother me." He gestured to his puppets. "I still have my mother and father with me. It's not like I'm alone or anything."

"It's not the same. You need to know what it's like to be loved. No substitute."

Sasori noticed her walking closer to him. "I told you, I'm fine. It's not like I'm depressed or anything. I care about my puppets."

"Only because they can't leave you. They're incapable of it. And if there's something about them you don't like, you can always fix it. And if they break, you can rebuild them. You can make them again. Can't do that with a person. Once they're gone, they're gone."

"Exactly. That's why puppets are…" She was coming even closer to him, closing in. "Wh- what are you doing?"

Konan continued walking. "But you need to know what it's like to be loved by a person. A real live human being. A parent's love. It cannot be replicated. Maybe if you had that kind of love as a child, you would be different. Different values. You might even be happier."

Sasori backed up into the wall, Konan continued forward, closing the gap. She was looking down at him with a small tender smile. "Uh…" Sasori couldn't back up any further. "Uh… just what are you..?"

She tapped his forehead. "Sleep."

* * *

Itachi wasn't bored with this power over the other Akatsuki members. He was just taking a break. He was having fun with the commands he had just given the others prior to the afternoon snack and wasn't ready to change anything yet. He was pleased with how things were going so far. And there was such a thing as overdoing it. He didn't want to give them too many commands to do at once. Maybe he should leave things alone for the rest of the evening and start fresh in the morning. He hadn't decided yet.

As he walked into the kitchen to see if dinner was being prepared or not, he noticed at something was off. Before he entered the room, he could hear humming. He could also hear the sound of silverware clanging against different surfaces. Maybe Konan was cooking already and humming to herself as she did it.

He opened the door.

Konan was indeed in the kitchen cooking. But she wasn't alone. Sasori was sitting at the table writing something on a sheet of paper. There was a stack of paper beside his arm, most likely given to him by Konan herself.

Itachi was mistaken. Konan wasn't the one humming. It was Sasori. And he wasn't writing. He was drawing. Itachi moved closer and peered over his red head to look at what he was creating on the paper. It was hardly a masterpiece. It looked like something a child would draw. He was making a landscape complete with flowers and birds and trees. When Itachi got closer, he saw that Sasori was smiling.

Noticing Itachi, Sasori looked up. "Hi!"

Itachi blinked. Sasori had smiled in the past, but it was always a smirk. This wasn't. This was a pure innocent smile, much like that of a child. Even the way he greeted him was childlike. "Uh… hi."

Sasori looked back down at his picture. Giving it a finishing touch, he put down his pen and held up the piece of paper. "Look, Konan! Look what I made!" he chirped.

Konan turned around and smiled at his drawing. "That's wonderful. Very good work!" She came over and pat his head. "You're an artist alright."

He beamed at her. "You like it?"

"Of course I do. It's lovely."

Itachi stared at them. "Umm…"

Konan looked up. "Just a second, Sasori. Let me see what he wants." Konan went over to Itachi and pulled him into a corner. "What?" she hissed.

"What do you mean what?" He pointed to the human puppet at the table. "What did you do to him?"

"I gave him a chance at a happier childhood," she answered. "It's sad that he never got any love from his family. So I thought I'd fix that."

"So…" he said slowly. "You're… his mom now?"

"Kinda sorta. He doesn't call me 'mom' or anything, but he recognizes me as a kind of parent. I want him to know what it's like to be loved and experience human affection."

"That's sick."

Konan slapped his shoulder. "Where is your mind at? I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just showing him love."

"Again. Sick."

"It is not. What you were doing with Deidara and Hidan was sick. There are different kinds of love, you know. Besides, this isn't permanent. At the end of the week, he'll be back to normal like everyone else. I just want him to enjoy himself and know what it's like to be loved. That's it."

Itachi moaned. "I know. But still…" He glanced at the man at the table. "My mind's not in the gutter or anything, but I still think it's a little… you know. I mean, you're playing with his emotions, aren't you?"

"I worked out all the details. It's fine. Besides, he won't remember any of it anyway."

"Then what's the point?"

"Even if he doesn't remember it, it still happened so he has the experience. It'll be nice while it lasts. Maybe the feeling will be there somehow."

Itachi looked away again. "Yeah, yeah… It's a little creepy, just the same. I mean, he's too happy. And you were pissed at me for what I was doing, saying that I needed to be subtle. I'm pretty sure they're bound to notice something off about him."

"I'll come to that when the time comes." Konan walked away and sat at the table beside Sasori who was drawing another picture. "Whatcha got there?"

He covered the paper with his arms. "Don't look yet. It's not ready."

"Ok, ok." Konan sat there and waited. As Sasori drew, she smiled. Getting an urge to do it, she suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. He leaned back into her embrace, smiling. She started kissing the top of his head, making affectionate growling noises and he started giggling, hugging her back. "I gotcha!"

His laughter turned into a squeal of joy and he buried his face in her chest. She had never seen Sasori look or sound so happy. It was a nice feeling to know she gave him such joy. He deserved a chance to be happy.

Itachi just stared at them. "I'm sorry, but that just looks wrong to me."

"There's nothing wrong with it. Think of it as sibling affection."

"Yeah, but the way I show affection with Sasuke is different."

"No kidding…" she muttered to herself.

Sasori looked back and forth at them with big curious eyes. "Whatcha talking about?"

Konan stroked his head. "Nothing important. I'd better get back to cooking."

Itachi looked from Sasori to Konan. Surely there was something fun he could do until dinner. He stood up and started to leave the room.

"Watch yourself," Konan warned as he left.

He knew what she meant and he didn't care. If he did his math right, there were only two days left before this hypnosis wears off and everyone would return to normal. If he counted today, that would make it three days in total. But the day was almost up. Evening was coming up fast and soon they would enter the second to last day of this. Realizing how little time he had left, Itachi decided to enjoy it as much as he could. There must have been something really fun he could do. Perhaps a chain reaction of some kind…

"Oh, that would be fun…" Itachi looked around. He had to find someone to try this out on.

* * *

Itachi found Deidara working in his room with the door wide open. Perfect. He crept inside and stood behind the blond man, his hands covered with clay he was carefully molding into the shape of a large spider. He gave his hands a sharp clap. "Sleep."

Deidara collapsed onto the table, flattening his creation under his chest. Good thing it wasn't active or they both would have been killed in the explosion. Itachi didn't bother to move him. Instead, he pulled up a chair and sat down beside Deidara.

"Ok. Deidara, I want you to stand up for me. Stand up."

Deidara pulled himself off the table and stood up as if manipulated by puppet strings.

"Good. Good. Now…" Itachi smiled. Time for a little entertainment. "I want you to dance. Dance for me."

Deidara obediently started dancing. He started to spin around the room, the hem of his coat fluttering behind him. He spread his arms out like a bird and started to do a little ballet. Itachi sat back and watched. After two minutes, he got bored.

"Ok, you can stop now. Stop."

Deidara stopped and stood there awaiting further instruction.

"Alright. Now I want you to… sing for me. Start singing."

At first he was silent. Then Deidara started singing a song. It was a song Itachi wasn't familiar with. It was from Deidara's home village. He had heard it as a boy and remembered it to this day. Itachi sat back and listened. Deidara had a pretty good voice.

Another member of the Akatsuki was walking down the hall when he heard the song. Hidan's head turned towards the voice. It sounded a lot like Deidara but that couldn't be. Could it? He approached the open door and peeked inside. Keeping close to the wall, he watched Deidara sing while Itachi sat in a chair and listened.

This was strange. Deidara hated Itachi. Why would he do this?

"That's enough," said Itachi. "Stop singing."

He obediently stopped.

Hidan watched from the hall, intrigued.

"Now, whenever you hear your name, you'll bark like a dog. Got that?"

Deidara nodded.

Hidan gasped out loud. So Itachi _was_ responsible for all of this.

Itachi's head turned, facing the open door. "Who's there?"

Hidan covered his mouth and jumped straight up.

Itachi wandered out the door. He knew he heard someone. He saw a shadow moving quickly down the hall and followed after it. Meanwhile, Hidan, carefully hidden on the ceiling above the door, jumped down and ran into the room.

"I knew it. I knew Itachi was doing something. I just knew it. So he's the one responsible." He looked at the entranced Deidara, still standing in the center of the room. "I'll fix him good." He stood in front of his fellow Akatsuki. He was certain that Itachi had gotten to him as well. Why else would everyone say that he kept insulting Deidara and not remember it? He must have been doing it without realizing it. He may have not been able to stop it, but he could get back at Itachi for it. After all, it was his fault. "Deidara, can you hear me?"

He nodded.

He had to be fast before Itachi showed up. "Listen. Every time I, Hidan, insult you, you will slap Itachi. And if you can't reach, you'll throw something at him instead. Got it?"

He nodded.

Footsteps told Hidan that Itachi was coming back and fled the room before he could be caught.

Itachi entered the room again. The shadow turned out to be Kisame rushing to the bathroom. No harm was done. Itachi stood in front of Deidara, satisfied for now.

"Ok, Deidara. Up and at 'em."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	22. Reflex

**Chapter 22: Reflex **

Grinning, Itachi marched up and down the different passages, trying to find victims to 'suggest' things to. He had already gotten Deidara to bark every time he heard his name. Now he had to find a way to play off of that before dinner started. Dinner and a show. What could have been better than that?

It was a shame he didn't know Kakuzu's triggers, nor Zetsu's. Sasori was with Konan so there was no chance of him getting close enough to try anything. Not that she'd let him anyway. That just left Kisame and Hidan since he had already gotten to Deidara.

He passed Kisame in the hall. Better than nothing "Waterfall."

Kisame slumped against the wall.

"Whenever you hear Deidara bark, you will say the phrase 'clay doll'. Awake." Itachi snapped his fingers.

Kisame stood up and continued his walk. Itachi smirked. This was going to be so much fun. He couldn't wait.

* * *

Dinner was called and everyone rushed to the kitchen to eat. Konan stood against the wall as everyone fought over the meal, each eager to fill up his plate first. Hidan stomped on Kakuzu's foot when he reached for the plate of meat to get him out of the way. Deidara shoved Kisame to one side, trying to make his way to the front. Itachi stood clear and watched the others fight. At one point, everyone was shoved to one side, allowing Itachi easy access to the food and filled up his plate and went to the table.

Finally everyone was seated and enjoying their meal. Sasori sat beside Konan at the head of the table, watching her with joyful eyes. He had no reason to eat but he didn't want to leave her side, so he watched her eat instead. Hidan sat across from Itachi and between Kakuzu and Zetsu. Kisame sat on Itachi's left while Deidara sat on his right. There was no place else to sit so he had little choice.

Itachi looked up at one point, wanting to start the fun. "So Deidara…"

"Arf!"

"Clay doll!" Kisame blurted out.

"You're an idiot!" said Hidan.

Deidara suddenly slapped Itachi across the face.

Everyone froze and stared at them.

Itachi put a hand to his stinging cheek. He turned back to the blond. "What did you do that for? I'm not the one who insulted you."

"I- I don't know… I didn't mean to… It just…" Deidara looked even more surprised than the others. Even terrified. He never decided to do it. It just happened. Almost like a reflex. He had no control over it.

Not wanting to pry any further out of fear of the others uncovering what he had done to most of them, Itachi changed the subject. "I see your partner is getting pretty close to Konan."

Kisame kicked Hidan under the table.

"Ow!"

"What?"

"You just kicked me!"

"Are we going to start this again? I didn't mean to!"

Itachi grinned. This was more like it. "I'm sure you didn't mean to, partner."

His leg involuntarily jerked out again, nailing Hidan in the shin.

"Ow!"

"What now?!"

"Same thing! Switch seats with me, somebody!"

"Don't be such a baby…"

"Who are you calling a baby, Deidara?"

"Arf!"

"Clay doll!"

"You're stupid!"

Deidara slapped Itachi again.

Itachi held a hand to his cheek again. Deidara leaned away, fearing he would be the next one smacked around.

Kisame turned his body so he was facing Itachi. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"You have such a considerate partner, Itachi."

Kisame kicked the Uchiha, his body now facing him.

"Ouch!"

"What? Did he kick you now?" asked Deidara.

Itachi frowned at him. "Well, duh! Of course he did, Clay-boy!"

"You're gay and everyone knows it!"

"Shut up!" Deidara's hand slapped Itachi while he spoke.

"Ow! Deidara!"

"Arf!"

"Clay doll!"

"You're a moron!"

Deidara slapped Itachi again.

"Stop hitting me, Deidara!"

"Arf!"

"Clay doll!"

"Deidara's a he-she!"

"Arf!" He slapped Itachi across the face again.

"Clay doll!"

"You're no artist!"

He slapped Itachi once more. "Take that back!"

Itachi slapped Deidara back. "Stop hitting me!"

"I didn't mean it! It just happened! Reflex!"

"Oh, like Kisame's kicking?" asked Kakuzu.

"Y- yeah! Like that, I guess!"

"Well, knock it off!"

"You can't stop a reflex! It just happens! I can't help it!"

"You do it again and I'll skin you alive and feed you to my partner!" Thunk! "Ow! Kisame!"

"Sorry!"

Konan watched them from the head of the table, knowing full well that they were reacting off each other's commands. However, Itachi would never ask Deidara to slap him like that and it only seemed to happen when Hidan insulted him. This meant that someone must have figured out the hypnotic commands and given a suggestion to Deidara while he was under.

Itachi had come to the same conclusion. He suspected it might have been Kisame, but he wouldn't give Deidara a command like that. But there was no one else around when the door was open earlier when he was giving Deidara his new command. Who else could have done it?

He looked around the table for anyone who looked suspicious.

Sasori was still watching Konan eat, looking up only when he heard a bang or a thunk. Since he was with Konan almost every second, it was unlikely to be him anyway. Konan was cooking so she couldn't have done it. Besides, it didn't seem like the sort of thing she'd do. Not when the result would instigate more fighting which she was trying to prevent. Zetsu seemed to be annoyed by these outbursts. Why would he have done something that would cause him annoyance? He couldn't be the culprit. Kakuzu didn't seem too bothered by anything that happened unless it was directed towards him or something very out of ordinary. Besides, he liked to keep away from Deidara anyhow. And Itachi could usually detect his movements. He wasn't the quietest person in the world. That left the person smirking every time Itachi was hit.

Itachi's eyes narrowed on Hidan. He must have been the one. His actions said it all. He must have snuck into the room when Itachi left to follow that sound. He did it. Itachi was positive of it. Now he just had to figure out what to do about it. He had to reverse it. But first he had to figure out what the command was and how it was phrased. Deidara seemed to slap him every time Hidan spoke to him. Was that the command? No, it couldn't have been. Hidan had spoken to him before without incident. It must have been something else.

Deidara glared at Hidan who was watching him, very amused. "Quit staring at me, hn!" He broke a plate over his head. "Ow!"

"Deidara!"

"Arf!"

"Clay doll!"

"I feel sorry for Sasori who has to have you as a partner!"

Kisame kicked Itachi at the same time Deidara slapped him in the face.

The insults! The trigger must have been the insults he received from Hidan. Every time Hidan insulted Deidara, Deidara would slap him in the face. That must have been it. He had to fix this before it caused him anymore pain.

Hidan smiled, looking at Deidara. "Yoo-hoo!" Deidara looked up. "You're ugly."

He slapped Itachi again. This time, Hidan willingly insulted Deidara.

Oh, Hidan was going to pay dearly for this!

He started to laugh when he saw the red handprint on the side of Itachi's face. This was fun! "You're a moron!"

Slap!

Itachi grabbed Deidara's hand. "Why don't you sit over there, next to your partner?"

Kisame kicked Hidan, body now facing the other way. Much better.

"Fine. And don't touch me, hn." Deidara hit himself over the head with another plate. At this point, he had grown so used to it, he merely muttered to himself and walked away. He took a seat next to Sasori and started stabbing his food with a fork.

Sasori looked at him with bright eyes. "It's ok, Deidara."

"Arf!"

"Clay doll!"

"You're a talent-less hack!"

Deidara picked up a plate of food and threw it at Itachi.

Unprepared for this, Itachi took the dish on the right side of his face. The plate stuck to his face for a moment or two then slowly slid down and fell to the floor with a clang. He turned his head to glare at Deidara who sat, shaking his head, trying to let Itachi know that he had nothing to do with that.

Sasori looked at Konan. "Why's he doing that?"

She patted his head. "They're just being idiots. That's all."

"Oh."

Hidan sat back in his chair, smirking. "You've got no skill as an artist."

Deidara threw another plate at Itachi who avoided it by shoving Kisame in its path.

"What was that for?!"

"Sorry, partner."

Kisame kicked Hidan under the table.

Itachi leaned over and covered the front of his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound, then whispered to Kisame, "Partner, partner, partner, partner, partner, partner."

He kicked Hidan six more times, giving him no chance to escape his jerking leg.

"Stop kicking me!"

"I'm not doing it on purpose!" Kisame stood up from the table. "That's it, I've had it. Screw you guys, I'm going to bed." He stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

The group looked at one another.

"So, Deidara…"

"Arf!"

"Are you gonna throw anything else at me?"

"I didn't even know I was doing it until it happened! Get off my back, hn." He hit himself with his fork.

"Why do you keep doing that, Deidara?" asked Sasori.

"Arf! How should I know? Can't help it."

"Can you try?"

"Don't you think I've been trying? Hn." He broke another plate over his head.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Yes, very much." Deidara turned away, trying to ignore everyone to the best of his abilities.

Hidan smirked again. "Sorry you're such a loser, Deidara."

"Arf!" He threw another plate at Itachi who bent backwards to avoid it. The plate smashed against the wall, leaving a stain where it had made contact.

Kakuzu stood up. "If everyone's going to start a food fight, I'm outta here. Let me know when you've stopped acting crazy long enough to hold a civilized conversation." Kakuzu left.

Deidara stood up next. "Well, excuse me for trying to eat in peace and have everyone else turn it into a three-ring circus!" He followed Kakuzu out the door, ranting all the way. "It's not like I asked for this! Let me ask you again, are you _sure_ no one's doing drugs or anything? 'Cause I'm getting pretty suspicious!"

Without making a sound, Hidan stood up, gave Itachi a knowing smirk and left the room. Itachi's eyes narrowed. "He's gonna pay for this. Big time!"

Konan sighed. She couldn't wait for this week to be over. Two days left. Just two more days. "Zetsu, could you please help me clean up the kitchen?"

"Of course! My pleasure!"

* * *

After the kitchen was cleaned up and everyone had gone to their own rooms, Konan prepared to retire herself for the night. Sasori stood on a chair and jumped on her back. He didn't weight very much at all. The thing that threw her off was his sudden attack. He giggled and nuzzled her shoulder with his nose and chin.

"Piggyback!" he chirped.

"You want a ride?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh!"

"Ok, hold on tight." She started to run around the room with him on her back. Then she opened the kitchen door and charged down the hall towards her bedroom. Sasori laughed and pointed forward, urging her onward. It was like playing with a child. She liked children. She started to make whooshing sounds as if they were really flying down the hall. She ducked inside her room and started to spin around in a circle. "Oh, no! We're going down!" She dropped Sasori on the bed where he collapsed in a massive giggle fit.

"Do it again! Do it again!"

"Nah. Not tonight. It's time for bed." She tapped his foot with her hand. "Come on. I've got to get some sleep."

He sat up. "Can't I stay here with you?"

Konan blinked. "Uh… Well…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just…"

Sasori sat in the middle of her bed, hands on his knees. "I wanna stay with you. Please?"

"Well, I'm going to bed. You should, too."

He paused. Then smiled. "Ok!" He started to pull back the covers. "Then I'll sleep with you."

"W- what?!" Konan gasped.

Sasori crawled under the covers and placed his head on the pillow. "I'll sleep in the same bed as you. What's a-matter?"

"Oh. Uh, nothing… It's just when you said you'd 'sleep with me', I sort of thought… Never mind. Never mind…"

"What's wrong with saying that?"

"Nothing. It just has a double meaning…" She started to pull the covers back on the bed. "You should really sleep in your own bed, though. This is mine."

"But I want to stay with you." Sasori gave her puppy eyes and stuck out his bottom lip. "You're not gonna leave me alone, are you?"

Konan moaned. The whole point of this was to allow him to have a happy childhood. His parents were never there for him and they never gave him what he needed emotionally. If she refused and had him sleep down the hall, wouldn't she be doing the same thing they did? He was never allowed to be in their bed. Most children liked sleeping with their parents. There was nothing wrong with that. It was a comfort thing. Security. The fact that he wanted to share her bed meant that she made him feel safe.

She couldn't turn him down knowing that. "Alright. Slide over."

Sasori slid over to the wall to allow her some room to lay down. Konan climbed into bed and pulled the covers over them both. Sasori snuggled up to her, resting his forehead on her chest. Konan watched him with fascination. Wanting him to feel safe and loved, she placed her arm around his shoulder. He smiled and snuggled in closer.

"You love me, right?" he asked. His voice sounded higher than normal. Like a child's.

Konan wasn't sure how to respond. Then she kissed his forehead and whispered to him. "Yes, I do."

"Can you tell me so?"

Her heart started to melt. He knew just how to get to her. "I love you."

He giggled and hugged her tightly. "I love you, too."

Konan felt happy as well as guilty. She really was playing with his emotions. But wait. She never hypnotized him to love her. These were his true feelings. But they were only his feelings because of the way she treated him. She showed him love so now he loved her. He was happy. That's what she wanted to do for him. To give him a chance to feel real love from a living person. But this was fake. None of this would matter in two days. He would be right back to where he started before. Was this cruel, what she was doing?

No. She had decided that she would give him a chance. And besides, the emotions might still be there when he snaps out of it. Even if he wouldn't remember it, he might still feel like he was loved somehow. She was trying to do something nice for him.

Konan looked at how they were positioned on the bed, her holding him and him snuggled up to her chest under the covers, sharing a bed together. This was pretty awkward. She didn't really love him, but she did care about him. She wanted to sneak off the moment he fell asleep and escape the situation. But when she looked down at his smiling face, looking so peaceful and happy, she found she could no longer carry out that plan. He looked so sweet. Besides, what if he woke up and saw her sneaking away and thought it meant that she didn't care about him at all? The way they were positioned made it difficult to do that anyway. She would have to stay the night.

Sasori lifted his head and kissed her chin. "Good night, Konan." He lowered his head and closed his eyes.

She smiled at him and rested her head on top of his. "Good night, Sasori."

* * *

Aw, how sweet! ^-^

Please review!


	23. Going My Way?

**Chapter 23: Going My Way?**

Come morning, everything was still in its place. Their positions hadn't changed much, either. Sasori was still cuddled up close to Konan on the bed, snoozing lightly. Konan woke up first and looked down at him. He looked very comfortable. She almost didn't have the heart to move him, but she had to. She slowly lifted the covers and started to take her arm off his shoulder.

Sasori's eyes opened. "Where are you going?" he asked softly. He was still pretty drowsy.

"I have to use the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute."

He gave his eyes a quick rub and laid his head back on the pillow. "Promise?"

"Promise. I'll be back in a couple minutes. You can keep sleeping until I get back."

He gave a small nod and closed his eyes, pulling the covers up to his shoulders and rolling onto his stomach, curling up.

Konan quietly left the room and went straight for the bathroom. As she got closer she heard Hidan's loud voice through the closed door. She rolled her eyes. The bathroom was taken. From the sound of things, Hidan was in the shower. And that wasn't the worst of it. He was also singing loudly.

"Talkin' 'bout money! Money! Dude likes his ladies! They like him, too! Ooh!"

Konan shut her eyes in horror. This was bad. Hidan's voice changed in pitch often, getting higher on certain words then back to his normal voice.

"Repent you sorry fools! This one's taken! Makin', makin'! Bacon!"

Konan had no way of knowing how long he would be but she couldn't stand another minute of his singing.

"Dude's a sexy beast! Shake it, shake it! Lookin' good! Yeah! Whoo! Yeah! And he told me-"

Konan banged on the door with her fist. "Hidan!"

"Ahh! What?!" he called through the door. "A little personal time here! Go away!"

"I have to use the bathroom," she called back.

"What?!"

"I have to use the bathroom!"

"Oh! Well, it's gonna have to wait!"

"It's kind of urgent."

"I'm in the shower!"

"So? Keep the curtain closed and I'll just-"

"Whoa! No, no! I'm not having no woman coming in here doing her… business… while I'm having some me time!"

"Why not?"

"I'm naked!"

"It you keep the curtain closed, it won't matter, now will it?"

"You can wait! I'm not letting you in!"

"If you're not out in the next two minutes, I'm coming in like it or not!"

"Ok, ok! Just give me a second wouldja?"

Konan stood back, satisfied with his response. Making a threat like that usually worked. She could have put him in another trance and ordered him to leave, but she didn't want to risk him falling over in the shower. And if she did order him to do that, he might walk out of the room naked and she did not want to see that. It was better this way.

A minute later, she heard the water shut off and Hidan stumbling around the room. Then the door opened and Hidan stepped out wearing a blue and grey towel around his waist. "There! You happy now?"

"Thank you. I'll just be a minute. Then you can get back in if you want."

"Yeah, yeah… Kind of a moot point now, don't you think?" he muttered and started to walk away. He heard the door shut and lock behind him. A moment later, he heard another door open. He turned around. Empty hall. He faced forward again and nearly ran head first into Itachi. "Wah! Don't do that!"

"Do what?" he asked, smiling slightly. "Pop up out of nowhere? Scare you half to death? Or maybe it's something along the lines of forcing Deidara to slap me every time you insult him? Any of those work for you?"

Hidan backed away and lowered his eyes but not out of fear. "Ha. So you know, huh?" He chuckled, amused.

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

"A little." Hidan started to walked around Itachi, keeping a distance. "It's no more than what you did. Using your Sharingan on him like that and all…"

Itachi frowned. "You think I used my Sharingan on him?"

"Sure do. Why else would he be acting like that? Granted, I don't know a whole lot about it since it's not a talent of mine. However, I know you can use it to control people's minds, am I right?"

"You got me there," Itachi gave him an amused shrug.

"I also know…" Hidan turned his back on Itachi, keeping his eyes shut tight. "That you need eye contact in order to use that ability of yours. So as long as I don't look at you, you can't use it on me."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Yup. And if that's not enough…" Hidan covered his ears with his hands. "I'll just cover my ears to make sure I don't hear you, either. See? Now there's no possible way you can do whatever you did to him to me. I'm blind and deaf. Tough luck, sucker."

Itachi nodded up and down, chewing on his tongue. "Ah… Good plan. Good plan… However… Who said I needed eye contact for this? You've been misinformed, my friend. This isn't the power of the Sharingan. All I need is for you to hear me."

With Hidan's ears covered, he wouldn't be able to hear his trigger. He was also incapable of hearing Itachi's explanation. Which suited Itachi just fine. He was a sitting duck either way. All he had to do was get Hidan to uncover his ears. Simple enough. Hidan wasn't the brightest person out there.

Itachi reached forward and pulled off Hidan's towel, dropping it by his ankles.

"Hey!" Hidan took his hands down to cover himself up.

"Sleep." Itachi snapped his fingers and Hidan went down. Itachi made no effort to catch him. He smirked. "You had some good ideas. Too bad they were all wrong. Now it's time to pay you back for what you did. I know it's a little cliché, but you brought this on yourself. I think it'll make a fitting punishment for you." Itachi cleared his throat. "Hidan, whenever I and only I say the phrase 'going my way'… you will become my obedient slave and do whatever I tell you to do. You will return to normal when you hear the phrase… 'Jashin is dumb'. Got it? And awake." He snapped his fingers again and ran off.

* * *

When Konan returned to her bedroom, she found Sasori still in her bed. He opened his eyes when he heard the door opened. He smiled the moment he saw her and sat up. "I'm going to get something to eat if you want to come along."

He nodded and reached up with his arms, silently asking to be carried. Konan obliged and picked him up. It was a good thing he was so light. Still a little drowsy, Sasori rested his head on Konan's shoulder and went limp. Hoping that no one would see them, Konan went quickly to the kitchen and closed the door. She started to set Sasori down in one of the chairs by the empty table. It was clear that no one had been in here yet. And judging from the lack of screams, most of the Akatsuki were still in bed. Sasori looked up at Konan, a little disappointed that he was set down so soon.

"Can we play a game?" he asked her sweetly.

"Of course we can. But I have to cook. It will have to be quick. I can play a longer one after I'm finished."

Smiling, Sasori placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. "Can I have another kiss? They feel nice."

"Ok. A quick one." She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. He giggled. He really was starved for affection. "Now I really should get food started."

"What can I do?" he asked.

"Did you want to help me cook?"

"Yeah!" He started jumping up and down like an excited child. "I wanna help! I wanna help!"

"Ok, ok. Come here."

Sasori ran over to her side, very eager. Konan showed him what things were and what she was going to do with them. She told him to turn on the stove for her while she supervised. Next she told him to get her some eggs. Being careful not to drop them, Sasori brought her three eggs. He was happy to help her. When she smiled at him and told him that he had done a good job, it gave him a warm pleasant feeling inside. He liked it.

Then the others started to file into the room, smelling something cooking.

Deidara kicked the door open first, yelling over his shoulder at someone. "I keep telling you, I have NO idea! Get off my back!"

Kakuzu followed in after him. "You knocked the sense out of yourself, that's why."

"I'm not doing it because I want to!" He turned his head and Konan could see the large bump forming on the top of his skull. Maybe it was about time Itachi undid whatever he had done to Deidara. This was getting out of hand now. They had to do something about this before Deidara suffered permanent brain damage.

Sasori waved his hand in the air, trying to get his partner's attention. "Look! We're making eggs. I helped."

"Huh." Deidara said, on a new subject now. "I didn't know you could cook."

The door opened again and in came Itachi and Kisame. They both took a seat at the table, without talking to anyone. Zetsu came in next, holding a wicker basket in his hand. "I picked up a couple things from outside," he said and set it down by Konan. She thanked him and turned off the stove.

"So where's our food?" Deidara asked, noticing that she had only cooked for herself.

"You can cook it yourself. I'm not your mother."

"No kidding…"

Kakuzu moved towards the stove. "Shouldn't be too hard. I can cook a little."

"Isn't it a woman's job to do that? Just saying."

Konan shot Kisame a look. He shrugged, brushing her off.

The door opened again and in came Hidan. He looked straight at Itachi and glared. "Ok, perv! Where do you get off pulling down my towel like that?"

"Itachi did what?"

"Who did?"

"He ripped off my towel after I got out of the shower!"

"He did?"

"You did?"

"Relax," said Itachi. "His back was to me. I didn't see anything. Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Why'd you do that?"

"He wouldn't listen to me so I had to get his attention somehow."

Hidan was beside himself with anger and unable to curse him out because of the hypnosis. "Figures he'd do something like that, the asexual Uchiha. They're all alike, aren't they?"

Itachi glared at him.

Kisame began to laugh. "Hey, he can't help it when he sees something he likes. Right, Itachi?"

Itachi glared at his partner. Kisame's smile went away.

"Sorry. So, breakfast?"

Hidan leaned into Itachi's face with a snarl. "I'm not finished with you, Itachi. This has only just begun."

"Ooh, tough talk coming from a guy with a pink pony fetish."

"You leave Applejacks out of this!"

"See? Pathetic."

"You wanna take this outside?"

"Sure. Going my way?"

Hidan's eyes gazed over and the anger left his face. Itachi smiled, knowing he has now in control. Thankfully no one else had noticed, too busy begging for food to care.

"Hidan, I want you to cook some breakfast for everyone. Including myself. If anyone asks you why, it's to stop the yelling. You got that?"

He nodded up and down. "I'm cooking to stop the yelling."

"Good. Now hop to it."

Hidan straightened up and shoved everyone out of his way. He took out a pan and turned the stove back on, cooking.

"What are you doing?" asked Kakuzu.

"I'm cooking to stop your yelling. Got a problem?"

"No… It's just-"

Deidara nudged him with his elbow. "Shh. You wanna eat, don't you? I say we let him do what he wants."

Itachi sat back with a smirk. Totally worth it.

* * *

Konan noticed that Itachi was spending and awful amount of time around Hidan. There was a good reason for that. After seeing how willing Hidan was to cook breakfast, and the fact that he had served Itachi first, she soon realized that he was under another spell set up by the Uchiha. For the next couple of hours, she witnessed Hidan doing several odd jobs for Itachi without complaints. The commands were getting worse as time went on. It started with cooking breakfast. Then it moved on to mopping the kitchen floor and making Itachi's bed. Then he made Itachi tea. Now it had moved on to him giving Itachi backrubs and bringing him anything he asked. He drew Itachi a bath, brought him fresh towels, polished his ring and his headband, cleaned his shoes and even helped him put them on his feet for him.

Konan walked into Itachi's room and saw just how much it had deteriorated. She glared at Itachi, leaning up against the doorframe. "Ok, this has got to stop. Now you're being ridiculous."

"What makes you say that?"

"He's combing your hair!"

Hidan was standing beside Itachi, gently running a comb through his dark locks. His face held no emotion. He was just there to do whatever Itachi told him to do.

"He doesn't mind."

"Of course he doesn't. You hypnotized him not to!" She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "You're more than capable of doing such things yourself. You're really taking advantage of this."

Itachi gave a small shrug. "I agree with you. I admit, making him my slave is a bit cliché and way overused…"

"That's what cliché means."

"I know what it means. I'm not an idiot. Getting back to what I was saying… I admit that it is, but hey. It works and I'm having fun." He held up his hand, telling Hidan to stop. He set the comb down and pinned Itachi's hair back into a ponytail.

"I can see that. You're enjoying it a little too much."

"So what? Who cares? It's fun."

Konan groaned. "I regret hypnotizing you now…"

"Oh, yeah," Itachi said. "You did hypnotize me, didn't you? I told you to do it." He started to frown slightly. "I can't remember what for… Hey, Konan, what'd I want you to hypnotize me for anyway?"

"I…" She stopped there. He didn't remember. Telling him would cause a problem. "It's nothing. Nothing important."

"Alright. I'll leave it at that. If I told you to do it, then there must have been a reason for it. It would mean that I trusted you to do it, so I should trust you now." Itachi stood up and pushed the chair aside. "Come, Hidan."

He obediently followed him into the hall. Once in the hall, Itachi turned to him and whispered something into his ear.

"Jashin is dumb."

"Huh?" Hidan turned his head but no one was there. Itachi had vanished before he could be caught.

He hid around the corner, snickering. He started to leave when he saw Kisame standing beside him wearing a smirk himself. "Well, well, well… What have we here?"

"Oh, hey, it's just you."

"Just me? How mean, Itachi." He stepped in front of Itachi so that he couldn't leave. "What was that all about over there?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Aw, cut the crap," Kisame chuckled. "I'm not an idiot so you shouldn't take me for one. You used your Sharingan on him, didn't you? Come on, you can tell me."

"There's nothing to tell." He stepped to the side, but Kisame blocked his path again.

"Come on, Itachi. Spill it. What did you do to him? I want in."

Itachi pushed his partner aside with his left hand. "You're going to have to wait."

"So you can use him but I can't? Is that it?"

"I'm not done with him yet. I'll let you know."

Kisame chuckled as Itachi walked away. "You're a cruel man, Itachi. No wonder Sasuke hates you."

Itachi stopped. What did Kisame just say? He turned around. "Hates me? What do you mean-?"

Kisame was gone.

Itachi stood still looking at the place where he had been a moment ago. Why would he say such a thing? Why would Sasuke hate him? They were brothers and he always protected him. He never did anything to hurt him in any way. He always looked after him and protected him.

_"Hey, Konan, what'd I want you to hypnotize me for anyway?"_

His eyes started to widen. He couldn't remember why he wanted Konan to do it to him. He wanted her to do something to him, but he couldn't remember.

If he couldn't remember the reason or the command, what else was he forgetting?

* * *

Will he figure it out?

Please review! ^-^


	24. What Am I Missing?

**Chapter 24: What Am I Missing?**

Instead of messing with the minds of his fellow Akatsuki, Itachi found himself pacing up and down the halls, wondering what Konan had done to him. He couldn't for the life of him remember why he wanted her to use hypnosis on him in the first place and it was impossible for him to remember the command she had given him. He was under some sort of spell, but he was unaware up until this point that anything was amiss. He truly believed that this was how he naturally was all the time.

"If I asked her to use it on me, then I shouldn't worry. It was something I wanted. But what did I want her to do? Kisame said that I was behaving differently. Could I have asked her to alter my personality in some way? Why would I ask her to do something like that? Well, there must have been a reason…"

It was a hard thing to swallow. The him that he knew might not have been him at all. He could have been an entirely different person.

"This is a pain in the ass. I wish I could remember what it was…"

His right foot snagged something on the floor and he almost fell over. Itachi stumbled and, catching his footing, looked down. Sasori was on all fours, pushing a piece of wood across the floor and around a hollowed out melon peel.

"What are you doing?"

The puppet man looked up with childish innocence glimmering in his eyes. "Playing a game." He pushed the block of wood across the floor with his hand, making engine sounds as it moved around the melon peel. "Vroom, vroom!" He looked up a second time. "Wanna play with me?"

"Uh…"

Sasori tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, play! Play!"

"Ok, but just for a minute." Itachi squatted down. Sasori handed him the block of wood while he grabbed the melon peel and started to make it wobble on the floor.

"It's a boat," Sasori explained.

Itachi watched him awkwardly for a minute. Then he started to smile. "You remind me of how Sasuke plays with his toys. It's amusing."

"Sasuke still plays with toys?"

"Why wouldn't he? He's just a kid."

"I guess so, but I thought he was getting a little old for that stuff."

"He's not that old. I mean, he's only… only…" Itachi's face fell, realizing something. The timing was off. As far as Itachi knew, he was still living at home with his family. Sasuke wasn't a ninja yet. He had only just started the academy. But they were six years apart roughly. If he was eighteen years old, then Sasuke would have to be… "I've got to go." Itachi set the wood down and got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to talk to someone." Itachi ran off to Konan's room. He needed answers.

The door to her room flew open and in came Itachi. He stood in her doorway looking at her as if she had been spying on him all his life.

"What did you do to me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me." Itachi closed the door. "In my mind, Sasuke is still a child. But the timing's off. He's supposed to be twelve years old, given my age. Why can I only remember him as a child?"

Konan didn't look at him.

"That's not all." He removed his headband and showed it to her. "I have a slash across my headband. This is the mark of a missing nin. Why would I be a missing nin? Not only that, but I'm a member of the Akatsuki. I don't remember the reasons why I joined. I don't recall any of that. Parts are missing from my past."

She still refused to look at him.

"And Kisame said something strange to me earlier. He said 'no wonder Sasuke hates you' to me. Why would Sasuke hate me? I've never done anything but love and protect him. Sure, I tease him a lot, but that's what brothers do. Why would he hate me for something like that? It doesn't make any sense."

Konan looked at him finally. She saw the look of fear in his eyes and felt the very thing she had taken from him: guilt.

"The only explanation I can come up with is that… is that you erased the bad things I've done to Sasuke. That whatever it was caused me so much pain that I couldn't deal with it and asked you to take it away from me. Is that it?"

She swallowed.

"It is, isn't it? I'm right. I knew it. Konan, what did you make me forget?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why? Because I made you promise or something?"

Konan looked down. Then she looked up. "Look, you came to me and asked me to do something for you. Saying that it was important. I did what you told me to do. Telling you what I did would ruin it."

Itachi still looked frightened and worried. She stepped closer, trying to reassure him.

"In a couple of days… As a matter of fact, tomorrow… Tomorrow, you and everyone else who has been put under will return to normal. So it's nothing to be concerned about. Everything will be as it was before."

Itachi still looked concerned, but the fear left his eyes. "Everything will be as it was… Is that right?"

"That's what the scroll told me. According to the scroll, the hypnosis simply wears off after a week's time. There's nothing to worry about. Hypnosis usually works like that anyway. If there's a command you don't want to keep doing, after a while, you'll stop doing it."

The Uchiha looked at the floor. "So… whatever you did to me… will wear off, right? I'll go back to normal?"

"That's right."

"And…" The worry was still on his face. "I'll remember what it was I wanted to forget. Right?"

Konan hesitated to answer. "Well… yes. Everything will be restored."

"But I asked you to make me forget. When this is over, I'll remember." His eyes shifted from side to side. "I wanted to forget. And I'm going to remember so…"

"You knew it wasn't going to last forever when you asked me to do it. You understood that. And you were fine with it. When the week is up, you'll understand more fully. It is you after all."

Itachi gave a weak smile. "I guess you're right. If I told you all that and if I did what I did, then I guess I have nothing to worry about."

Konan patted his shoulder. "You'll be fine. You wanted to enjoy yourself." She gave a weary sigh. "As much as I told you that I didn't approve… I think you'd better go enjoy yourself and use it while you have it."

The worry left Itachi's face and his mischievous grin was back in place. "Very true. I have forever to sulk but I only have until tomorrow to have some fun with the guys. I'd better take advantage of this while I have the chance. Pouting isn't going to help me none." He gave her a wave and opened the door to leave. "I'll be seeing you. Later!"

The door closed and Konan sighed again. She couldn't wait for tomorrow. The real Itachi made a lot more sense in some cases, even if he was harder to read. This Itachi changed emotions so quickly.

* * *

Please review!


	25. Comfort

**Chapter 25: Comfort**

There were a few things bothering Konan. She knew Hidan had figured out that someone was messing with their minds. The good news was that he had pinned the whole thing on Itachi, which suited her just fine. Plus, he mistakenly thought it was the Sharingan, not hypnosis. She had decided that if anyone figured out what was really going on, she would simply give them the same command she had given to Sasori to keep them from linking everything together, or to just make them forget the whole thing entirely.

The other issue was with Itachi. With this new personality of his, he seemed to be more reckless than the normal Itachi would be. She figured that it was due to the fact that be couldn't remember anything bad that had ever happened to him or any consequences of his actions. He didn't think anything bad would happen because he had never experienced it before to the best of his knowledge. This new Itachi was annoying at times. She knew that his recklessness would result in someone finding things out.

There were two things stopping her from doing anything about it. One: she wanted Itachi to have some fun before he went back to his depressed and moody self. Besides, it would all be over within 24 hours so she didn't see a reason to stop him. As long as people thought it was him doing the mind-messing, then she was in the clear and didn't have to worry about being found out. The second main reason why she didn't try to stop him was because she couldn't. When she had hypnotized him, she had neglected to give him a trigger to get him back into a trance. She would have to put him under all over again. Itachi may have been a little on the reckless side, but he wasn't an idiot. She had taken him around with her, showing him how she did the hypnosis and told him everything. He would know something was up if she tried. He was wise to her tricks. There was no way he would let her put him under again. She couldn't underestimate him.

It was best if she left things alone for now. She only had a day to go. If he messed things up, that was his problem. If things got really out of hand, then she would step in.

"Konan!" Sasori jumped out from behind a door and glomped her from the side. "Did I scare you?"

"Yes, you did," she told him, patting his head and ruffling his hair. "You're a sneaky one, aren't you?"

He started to playfully chew on her sleeve, making small growling noises. When she stopped patting his head, he jumped up and down, wanting more. "Again! Again! More, please!"

"Oh, you like that?"

"Uh-huh! More!"

She ruffled his red hair again and picked him up, squeezing him tightly. He laughed and hugged her back. This Sasori was a lot cuter than the other version. She was going to miss this when it was all over. Hopefully some good would have come from it. Maybe he would still feel the love he was given subconsciously. She was betting on it being a good thing for him. So far he seemed pretty happy. Hopefully he would be happy when he returned to normal.

Sasori started to try to climb up onto her shoulders, knocking her flower loose. "Carry me! Carry me!"

"Ok, ok! But you dropped my flower."

"Oh." He looked down, spotting the flower by her feet. "I'll get it." He climbed down and picked it up for her. He tugged on her arm to make her lean forward. When she bent down, he tried to reattach the flower himself, pinning it above her ear. It was slightly crooked but it was back in place. "There you go," he smiled.

"Good boy!" She ruffled his hair again and he jumped into her arms, still wanting to be carried. He nuzzled her neck and kissed her cheek, showing a lot of affection. He was clearly very happy. "So, did you want to play that game now?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" He pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "That way! Go!"

Konan sped down the hall, following his every direction. She went faster when told and bucked up and down when told. Sasori was having a blast. She entered the kitchen and circled the table twice before setting him down in one of the chairs. He continued to giggled long after his ride was over.

"Paper!" he demanded, holding out his hand.

She reached inside her coat and took out some pieces of paper. She handed them to Sasori who began to cut them. He carefully made two paper dolls, handing one to Konan and keeping the other for himself.

"This is you and this is me."

"Ah. I see."

Sasori started to make the paper doll move across the table. Konan, holding the doll representing herself, made hers walk up beside Sasori's. "Hello!" Sasori's doll greeted.

"Hello. How are you today?"

"I'm fine. I'm gonna go for a ride on my pet bird." He set down his doll, fashioning another out of another piece of paper. It was a poorly made crane, but Konan could tell what it was meant to be. He stood up his other doll and walked it over to the paper bird. "Deidara left it all alone. We'd better go look for him. Up, bird, up!" He made the paper crane carry his paper doll through the air and back over to Konan's.

"Did you find him?" Konan's paper asked.

"Deidara blew himself up! We better save him!"

"Then we'd better hurry." Konan made her paper doll follow after Sasori's. This was actually kind of fun. Like being a kid again. She was eager to see where Sasori's imagination would take them next.

* * *

"Hey, Hidan."

"What is it?"

"Going my way?"

Hidan stood perfectly still, facing Itachi with a glazed look in his eyes.

Itachi grinned. He pointed to his back with his thumb. "My shoulders are killing me. Would you mind?"

Hidan stepped behind Itachi and began to give him a massage. He rubbed his shoulders, easing the tension in the muscles with his thumbs and fingers. Hidan was very good at giving backrubs.

Might as well take advantage of this while he had the chance. "And Hidan, I would like you to call me master. Alright?"

"Yes, master."

Itachi held back his laughter. "I've always wanted to do that!"

The massage went on for another few minutes before Itachi got bored and decided to move on to something else. He told Hidan to stop and to stay where he was while he got a good look at him. He looked Hidan over from head to toe. What to do, what to do?

"You'll do anything I say, right?"

"Yes, master."

He started to smile again. "Ok, then. Jump up and down for me."

Hidan jumped in place several times.

"Ok, you can stop now. Let's see… Curtsy."

Hidan did as he was told.

"Um… suck your thumb."

He obeyed.

Itachi tried to think of something else he could do with him. "I could go for a snack. Carry me to the kitchen."

"Yes, master." Hidan bent down in front of Itachi with his back turned towards him. Itachi climbed on and was piggybacked all the way to the kitchen.

On the way there, they were stopped by Kisame who was just as bored as Itachi. "I want in."

"Kisame, go away."

"It's not fair that you get them all to yourself. Who else is there? Can I have 'em? Please? Come on, I never get to do nothing."

"Kisame, don't beg."

He frowned at his partner. "Come on! Please? I mean, look at this. He's giving you a piggyback ride down the hallway. I wanna do something fun like that. Please tell me. Help me out here. We're buddies, right?"

Itachi sighed. This might be entertaining in some way, too. Maybe he should let Kisame have his way with one of them. "Ok, fine. I'll tell you who else is under control and you can have them."

"Yes! I knew you loved me!"

"Never say that again."

"Sure, sure, sorry. So who is it? Who do I get?"

Itachi leaned against Hidan's head, not caring about his comfort in the slightest. "You can have Deidara."

Kisame frowned. "Do you have a better one I can have?"

"Take it or leave it."

"Ugh! Fine! I'm sure I can come up with something…" He looked back at Itachi. "So how do I do… this?" He gestured to Hidan's blank face with his hands.

"Ok, for Deidara, it's simple. But listen carefully, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go on. I'm listening."

He whispered the commands to his partner "To get him under control, you have to clap your hands once, ok? Just one time and say the word 'sleep'. After that, you can make him do anything you want. To wake him up you have to say the phrase 'up and at 'em'. Got it?"

"That's it?"

"Yup, that's it. Just make sure to only tell him to do one thing, otherwise he might get overloaded." Itachi didn't know if that was true or not, but he wanted to limit just how much Kisame could do to him.

"Ok. Not a problem. Thanks. I owe you."

"You sure do." Itachi smiled and told Hidan to continue on his way. They stopped just outside the door to the kitchen and climbed down from Hidan's back. With a quick "Jashin is dumb," Itachi went into the kitchen, leaving Hidan none the wiser.

Once inside, he noticed Konan making some tea on the counter and Sasori sitting at the table. He was playing with paper dolls by the look of things.

"What do we have in terms of snacks?" Itachi asked to anyone who would answer him.

"Take your pick," Konan told him.

He wandered around the kitchen, looking for something small to eat. "I'd kill to go to a café right about now…" When he finally found something to eat, he went over to the table to enjoy it. As soon as he sat down, he noticed that Sasori wasn't moving. Curious, he leaned closer to him for a better look. Sasori's eyes were closed but he was still sitting up. "Hey, Konan."

"Yeah?"

"What's with him?"

She looked. "Oh. He must have tired himself out from the games we were playing before. See, look at that. He's trying so hard to stay awake."

Sasori slowly flattened himself against the table and rested his head in the folds of his arms.

"Guess he gave up," she smiled. "Itachi, could you take him to his room and tuck him in for me?"

"Why do I have to?"

"Please?"

"Fine." Itachi rolled his eyes and stood up.

Sasori wasn't fully asleep yet. Just dozing lightly. Konan picked him up and transferred him to Itachi's arms. Itachi cradled him and let Sasori rest his head on his chest. He was so light. His body so limp. It was just like carrying a puppet. Itachi started out the door and down the hallway towards Sasori's bedroom.

"Itachi..?" Sasori mumbled without opening his eyes. "Where're we going?"

"To your room for a nap."

"How come?"

"Because Konan wants you to be more comfortable and take a rest."

Sasori snuggled up to Itachi and sighed. "Ok."

Halfway to the room, Sasori spoke again.

"You're really strong."

"Not really. You don't weigh that much."

"No, not like that."

"Then how do you mean?"

He felt Sasori shrug. "Dunno. I just feel really safe when you're holding me like this. I bet your brother loves you a lot. You must make him feel safe, too."

Itachi's footsteps started to slow. Did he? Now he was really confused. Kisame said that Sasuke hated him. Now Sasori… Itachi shook his head and quickened his pace. He loved Sasuke and wanted to protect him. That's all he knew for sure. That would never change. It didn't matter what anyone else said. He knew in his heart that as brothers they loved each other. Kisame could have been teasing him. Trying to rile him up. Sasori was now an innocent. If he felt safe in his arms there was no way Itachi was capable of hurting anyone he loved. He didn't have it in him. He was too kindhearted for that.

They made it to the bedroom and Itachi set Sasori down in his bed, covering him up with the moth-eaten blanket. Sasori didn't seem to mind at all and kept quiet and still on the bed. Itachi didn't know if he was asleep or not. But he wasn't going to watch and make sure. He had done his job. He closed the door and left.

* * *

Anyone have ideas? Remember, there's only so much time left before they're back to normal so now's your chance! XD

Please review! ^-^


	26. Most Enjoyable

**Chapter 26: Most Enjoyable**

Itachi was heading back to the kitchen for his snack when someone jumped into his field of vision and blocked his path.

"You!" growled Hidan.

"Me?" Itachi said innocently.

"Mind explaining how I ended up all the way over there and not remembering how I got there from the other side of the building?"

He shrugged. "You weren't paying attention?"

"Try again." Hidan stood toe-to-toe with Itachi and leaned into his face. "Kisame said that I was carrying you on my back. Now how do you suppose that happened and I don't remember any of it?"

"You were sleepwalking?"

Hidan started to roll up his sleeves. "You're dead meat, Itachi. I swear to Jashin, I'll murder you good. When I'm done with you, you'll be lucky anyone can tell you apart from one of Deidara's explosions!"

"Are you saying that I'll look like a cloud of smoke or a crater in the ground? That insult needs some work if you ask me."

"Sh-shut up!"

"Actually, the explosions are caused by his clay-"

"Deidara's an idiot!" Hidan blurted out.

"Oh, yeah… I should fix that… Getting kind of annoying now."

"What is?"

"It's nothing. You don't even know you're doing it." Itachi started to move passed him.

"Don't you walk away from me! Get your butt back here!"

Itachi kept walking. Deidara came out of the bathroom, his blond hair down and soaking wet.

"God, can't a guy take a shower in peace around here?" he asked. "What's all the yelling about, hn?" He hit himself in the head with the towel he had around his shoulders.

Seeing Deidara gave Hidan an idea. "Hey, Deidara!"

"Arf!" That command was still in effect.

"You're a moron!" He waited.

Deidara glared at him. "What'd I ever do to you, man?"

Hidan's jaw dropped. With every insult, he should… "Slap him!" Hidan pointed at Itachi. "Go on! Slap him good in the face!"

"Why?"

"No, I should be asking that! Why aren't you smacking him?"

Itachi smiled and winked at the confused Hidan.

He started growling again. "You..! You reversed it, didn't you?!"

"Reversed what?" asked Deidara.

Itachi stuck up his middle finger, pretending to scratch an itch on his face.

Hidan wasn't going down so easily. "Deidara!"

"Arf!"

"Listen to me! This guy's been messing with all of us! He-"

"Say, Hidan, are you going my way?"

Hidan stopped speaking and looked up at Itachi.

"Come here," he beckoned and Hidan followed. He kept going until Deidara was left far behind. "While I have you, I've got a couple of things I want you to do for me…"

* * *

Konan decided to be nice and leave the tea out for Itachi. He still had to finish the snack he left on the table. It was nice of him to put Sasori to bed for her. She felt like a mother. But it wasn't all bad.

She went back to washing out her cup and putting it on a rack to dry. As she was drying her hands, she felt something creep up on her. Two hands appeared under her arms and grabbed her breasts. The hands squeezed.

"Guess who?"

Screaming, she turned around and slapped the person standing behind her. The back of her hand made contact with Hidan's face. "Hidan?!"

Despite the hard hit to his right cheek, Hidan remained emotionless and stared off into space.

Laughter came from the crack in the door and Konan spotted Itachi spying on them from a safe distance. "You told him to do that?!"

He responded by laughing.

"You are being ridiculous!" Konan slammed the towel down on the edge of the sink in anger.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. Lighten up, would you?" Itachi cautiously came into the room. "I just wanted to see how you would react. I mean, you never do anything or say anything. I hardly know you're there half the time."

"Well, enjoy it while you can. Everyone returns to normal tomorrow. I can't say for sure the time…"

"And there's still a ton of things I want to do to them. I wish you had done this sooner or at least were given more time… A week his hardly enough to fit it all in."

"When he returns to normal, the first thing he's going to do is skin you alive. You know that, don't you?"

Itachi gave it a halfhearted shrug. "Eh. I can handle him, no problem."

"You won't have hypnosis to fall back on."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

She still wasn't convinced that he understood, but she digressed. The frozen Hidan was starting to bother her. "It's creepy how he just stands there. Do something about it."

"Ok, ok." Itachi swiveled around in his seat. "Hidan, come here."

Hidan stood by Itachi. "Yes, master?"

Konan rolled her eyes. "You really had him do that? Call you master?"

"When is it ever going to happen again? Let me enjoy it." Itachi pointed to the teapot. "Hidan, pour me a cup of tea."

"Yes, master."

With nothing better to do, Konan observed. This was either laziness or cruelty on Itachi's part. She wanted to see just how far he would take it.

* * *

Deidara's bedroom door opened with a puff of black smoke. Kisame backed away from the choking bog rising to the ceiling and looked at the person coming out. Deidara staggered from his room, coughing and pushing a singed lock of blond hair out of his face. "I'm ok!" he called to anyone who cared to hear. He fanned the smoke with his hand and coughed again, trying to air out his room. "Well, that sucked. And I just took a shower, too, hn!" He hit himself in the head with his tool bag. "Ouch!"

"You need a good whack in the head after that," said Kisame, who had been waiting for him to leave his room for the past few minutes.

Deidara turned around. "What do you want?"

"Why'd you blow yourself up?"

"I did no such thing. It was an early detonation. That's all."

"One of these days you are going to end up blowing yourself up. I'll tell you that right now."

"Duly noted." Deidara backed away from the smoke which was already starting to dissipate. If only there were windows in this building. That would help a lot. "I'll give that a couple minutes, then we'll try again, hn." He hit himself with the tool bag again.

Kisame looked into the room. "Deidara."

"Yeah?"

"Table's on fire."

"Whoa! Jeez!" Deidara ran back inside and doused the small flame with a bucket of water he had on hand. The fire sizzled and hissed, dying away. Deidara fanned the smoke with his sleeve and blow on the corner of the table to make sure the fire was gone. Satisfied and tossed the bucket to the ground and stepped away. "It's gonna smell like a fireplace in here for a while." He walked back out of the room. "So, what did you want again, Kisame? Something important, I hope."

"Oh, it is." He remembered the triggers and was eager to test them out on the little fire-starter.

"Well, spit it out."

Kisame clapped his hands once. "Sleep."

He jumped back when he saw Deidara fall sideways onto the floor. He looked like he had fallen asleep standing up.

"Jeez. Itachi didn't warn me about that. Wish he did."

He picked Deidara's limp body off the ground and tried to dust him off. Despite a bomb going off in his face, he wasn't too worse for wear. He tried to make him stand up, but Deidara was completely listless and couldn't stand on his own two feet.

"Deidara, can you hear me?"

"Mm…" Deidara nodded sleepily.

"Ok, I need you to stand up, alright?"

"…ok…" Deidara stood up. He looked very unsteady but he was standing alright.

"Good. Now let's see… I want it to be good. What should I do..?" Kisame had given it a lot of thought while he was waiting for Deidara to emerge from his room. He wanted to give him a really good command. Something funny. Kisame rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I've always wanted to do this. Deidara, when you wake up, you will think you're a girl."

Deidara nodded his head up and down slowly.

That should do it. "Up and at 'em."

* * *

Who wants to see this?! 8D

Please review!


	27. Like Totally OMG

**Chapter 27: Like Totally OMG **

Konan and Itachi continued their argument in the kitchen over how fair too far could go. Konan drew the line when Itachi tried to use Hidan as a footrest. Hidan wasn't just his butler serving him drinks and doing whatever he was told; he was a slave. He had no will of his own and did anything and everything Itachi told him to do without so much as flinching. No matter the order, no matter how humiliating, he would do it.

"Like I said, he's going to kill you when he wakes up."

"There's no evidence to support that he'll remember any of this anyway," stated Itachi.

"Sasori did," Konan pointed out.

"That's different. I have my own theory about him. I think the only reason why he remembers being put under is because he's a puppet. His body may not need sleep but his mind does. He must have a different consciousness. Everyone else was put under with no problem and without memory of the event. I'm pretty sure that the others aren't going to remember a thing. I mean, even I don't remember it. I remember asking you to do it, sitting down, giving you my necklace and then waking up. That's it."

"That doesn't mean that they won't remember when it wears off."

"There's no proof that they will either." Itachi called Hidan over again. "Fill this up for me, would you?" He handed him his empty teacup.

"Yes, master." Hidan looked half asleep while he took the cup and filled it up for the second time. He clearly had no idea what he was doing.

"You can be really cruel sometimes, Itachi…"

Itachi raised his cup to that. "Thank you. I try."

The kitchen door opened and in came Deidara looking very bright-eyed and energetic. He spotted Konan and ran up behind her, wrapping his arms around her from the back. "Hello, girlfriend!" His voice was higher than usual and more spirited.

Konan turned around, pushing him away. "Uh, hi?"

Deidara parted from her and giggled. "Don't be like that, silly. I'm just playing around."

His voice wasn't just spirited. No, that wasn't the word anymore. It was feminine. He had an effeminate voice.

Deidara looked over his shoulder and gave Itachi a finger wave. "Hi, cutie."

The cup missed Itachi's lips and the hot tea poured all over his lap instead. He was so much in shock that he didn't feel its burn.

Konan tapped him on the shoulder and he turned. "Are you alright?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're just… You seem different."

He giggled again. "I just wanted to come in here and have some girl talk with you, that's all."

"Did you just say girl talk?"

"Yup." Deidara grabbed her hands and held them. "Us girls have got to stick together. It's just us, after all, in a group of boys. We should be friends and spend more time together."

Konan blinked. Did he really think that..? He did. Deidara thought he was a girl. He truly believed it, too. Konan turned her gaze to Itachi who sat shaking his head from side to side, knowing what she was thinking.

"I swear to God, I had nothing to do with this."

"So, you didn't do this?" Konan nodded to Deidara with her hands still wrapped in his.

"No, I did not. I swear. This is not me." He eyed Deidara up and down. "Fitting, though."

Konan rolled her eyes.

Deidara pulled her in close, gasping dramatically. "Oh, my God, you know what we should do? We should give each other makeovers! It'll be fun!"

"What? No! I-"

"We'll paint each other's nails! It'll be great!"

"Now we know he's a girl," said Itachi. "He's dying to paint nails."

Konan frowned. "You paint your nail, too, you know. Everyone does."

Itachi put the teacup to his lips. "But when I do it, it's sexy."

Again, she rolled her eyes.

Deidara was pulling on her arms again. "Konan, honey…" His voice had gotten quieter. He was peering over at Itachi with a smile. "Don't you think Itachi's, like, really cute?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, he's like a total hottie, isn't he?"

Konan ignored him and looked at Itachi. "If you didn't do this and I didn't do this then that means that someone else figured out the trigger and did this to him."

"My money's on Kisame." Itachi lowered his cup.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I told him."

"Are you insane?!"

"He wouldn't stop bugging me. Don't worry, I didn't tell him everything. He thinks it's me doing it. Sharingan and all that…"

"But you told him to make Deidara like this?!"

"Arf!" Deidara heard his name and gave a tiny bark.

"No! I didn't tell him to do it. But I didn't tell him not to either." Itachi was smirking. "I just gave him my blessing and told him to do something fun. I never thought he'd come up with anything good."

"This isn't good! It's a disaster!"

"Oh, come on. Look on the bright side. Now you have someone to talk to."

She growled and balled her hands into fists. It took all her strength to keep from hitting him. She felt Deidara tap her on the shoulder.

"Konan, were you going to make lunch for everyone today?"

"Uh, well…"

"Can I help?"

She blinked. "Huh? You want to help me cook?"

"Sure! Why not? I can set the table and help you with dinner, too, if you like."

Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all. No one had offered to help before.

"So when were you planning on cooking? Let me know what you need."

"Well, uh…" Konan was still in a state of shock over this whole thing. "You can pick if you want."

Deidara clapped his hands together joyously. "Wonderful! I'll get started then!"

"W- well, it doesn't have to be right now. I mean, we have a little while. And no one seems to be hungry yet."

The kitchen door opened and in came Kisame. "Got food? I'm starved."

Konan sighed.

Deidara was already fastening an apron around his front and washing his hands. "I'm starting it now. You'll just have to wait a minute."

Kisame sat down beside Itachi, trying hard not to laugh at Deidara skipping around the kitchen and humming a song to himself. Itachi looked at him and pointed to Deidara. "Your doing?"

"Yup."

"Nice."

They high-fived each other and watched the show.

It was the strangest thing, seeing Deidara behave this way. They couldn't figure out if it was strange because he was acting like a girl or the fact that he was doing it so well. All his mannerisms were feminine. The way he held his fingers up, the positioning of his arms, keeping his elbows close to his body, the way he giggled. Even the way he chopped up the food was done in a very loving manner. Whenever he reached for something with one hand, he always kept the other one up, as if for balance or simply to keep from getting his hand dirty. Even his walk had changed. That, too, was very womanly.

Konan wanted to bang her head against the wall. Some of the things he did were really over the top. Things even she didn't do as a real woman. She kept throwing glares over at the two boys sitting at the table, trying very hard not to laugh out loud. But it was getting harder to control. The more Deidara moved, the harder it became.

"Konan!" Deidara sang.

Itachi and Kisame held their mouths shut with both hands, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"Could you please try this soup I made? I think it's just about done."

She walked over a dipped a spoon into the pot and tasted it.

The boys watched, unsure if they should eat anything Deidara made.

But Konan nodded her head in surprise. "It's good."

"Great! I hope the others like it, too." Deidara started to fill up two bowls with the soup and brought them over to the table. He sat them down in front of Itachi and Kisame. "Eat up, boys."

"Talk about service," commented Kisame. "We didn't have to get up and get it ourselves."

"Of course not," said Deidara. "It's the woman's job to serve the men."

They exchanged looks of surprise and joy. "I should have done this sooner," muttered Kisame as he tasted the soup. "And this is pretty good."

Konan frowned. She had mixed feelings about a woman's place and what they should do in this world. She didn't think of herself as weaker because she was a girl. She knew that women had their own roles. But Deidara was being a little too traditional for her taste. Even she didn't serve them hand and foot. She cooked for them, but it was up to them to get it themselves. But that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was the thought that it would only get worse from here. The last thing she wanted was another Hidan-servant hanging around.

Speaking of Hidan, he still wasn't moving. He just stood there behind Itachi like a puppet on a shelf, waiting to be used.

Konan cleared her throat. "Maybe Hidan would like to eat, too. Don't you think so, Itachi?"

He shrugged. "He's fine."

"He needs to eat, too."

"There's always dinner. He won't starve."

"Itachi…"

"Yeah, yeah. Jashin is dumb."

Hidan blinked and wobbled, completely thrown off. He looked around the room, realizing that he was in the kitchen. "Wh- what am I doing here?" He looked down and saw Itachi feasting on soup, ignoring him. "You..!"

"Save it and have some soup. It's pretty good."

Hidan wanted to take off Itachi's head right here, but the smell of hot food was too much to resist. He sat down as a bowl was placed in front of him. He picked up the spoon, while keeping his glare fixed on Itachi, and slurped up the broth. He looked down at the bowl in surprise. "Mm. What kind of soup is this?"

"Vegetable," answered the cook.

"Huh… You don't even taste it." Hidan hated eating vegetables, but this soup he could stand. It wasn't bland. There was spice in it. Maybe that was why he didn't notice that it was a vegetarian dish and kept eating.

Next came the other members of the Akatsuki. Kakuzu and Zetsu came into the kitchen looking for food. One of them at least. Kakuzu was handed a bowl and he took a taste. "So who made it?"

"I did!" chirped Deidara, lifting his ladle into the air.

Kakuzu looked from him to the soup in silence. Then he slowly walked over to the sink and pour it down the drain.

"Has anyone seen Sasori?" asked Zetsu.

"I think he's still in his room," said Itachi. "I wouldn't bother him. He doesn't eat anyway."

"Oh, right."

Itachi lifted the bowl to his lips to drink the remains. When he lowered it, he noticed Deidara staring at him with sparkling eyes. "Did you enjoy your soup?" he asked sweetly.

"Uh… yes?"

Deidara fanned his lashes at him affectionately.

Itachi suddenly had the urge to throw up his soup. Konan moved to collect his bowl, whispering in his ear, "Now you know what it's like." He knew she was referring to before when he had Deidara and Hidan fall in love with each other.

Speaking of Hidan, he was back to glaring at Itachi while he ate. Itachi felt his gaze and looked up. "What?"

"I'll kill you."

"Yeah, whatever."

"I swear I will."

"Fine."

"No joke."

"Uh-huh."

"I mean it."

"I'm sure you do."

"I'm going to kill you."

"Go ahead."

"I will."

"I don't see you doing anything."

"I am."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"You doubt me?"

"I'm not convinced."

"I'm more than capable. You know that."

"I know you are. But here we are."

"I hate you."

"So I've been told."

Kisame pointed at Hidan's soup. "You gonna eat that?"

"Clam up, fish-face."

"Just asking."

Itachi looked across the table at Deidara who was still watching him with a smile. He gave Itachi a finger wave and the Uchiha had a feeling that he was going to be seeing his soup again. "One minute." He excused himself from the table and fled the room.

Deidara gave a high-pitched giggled and clapped his hands together with glee. "Isn't he, like, the cutest guy ever? He's totally cool!"

Everyone at the table dropped their bowls and followed Itachi, fleeing the kitchen.

Deidara rolled his eyes and rested his head in the palm of his hand. "Ugh, men. They just don't get us girls, do they?"

Konan shifted her eyes from side to side. "Uh… right. Girls. Yeah…"

* * *

-_-'

Please review! ^^'


	28. Swinging Moods

**Chapter 28: Swinging Moods**

Deidara seriously thought he was a girl. He talked like one, walked like one… He acted like a girl! What made matters worse was that he now wanted to spend most of his time with Konan. He wouldn't shut up about how handsome Itachi was and how much he wanted to date him. Deidara took good care of his hair before, but nothing like this. Now he spent almost a full hour trying different hair styles. He would have taken longer, but Konan pulled him out of the bathroom before he could finish.

"Uh… now what are you doing?" Konan asked. Deidara was snooping around her room, looking for something.

"Konan, do you have any make-up I can barrow?"

"Make-up?!"

"Yeah, I want to look nice for Itachi." He pushed things out of the way, still searching. "I couldn't find any in my room so I had hoped…"

Konan sighed. This was ridiculous. "Sorry, but I…"

"You can't hog it all for yourself. Girlfriends are supposed to share."

"We're not girlfriends…"

Deidara stood up. "Oh!" he said angrily. "So I wasted my time helping you out with lunch and washed the dishes for nothing. Is that it? Way to string me along like that. I figured you all wrong. I never thought you were the bitchy type, Konan."

"I'm not! We're friends, we're friends! It's just that…"

"Just that what? I get it! You want Itachi all for yourself, is that it?"

"What? No! You've got it all wrong!"

Deidara folded his arms and turned away with a scoff. "Like he would like you in the first place. You have no personality."

Now she was getting angry. "I told you, I don't care about that! But what little make-up I have is off limits. I can't have you using it all on me."

"So you do have some! I knew it! Where'd you hide it?"

"I told you! I'm not sharing my make-up with you! I'm tired of you using my things all the time!" Konan blinked. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation…"

Deidara started crying. "Well, it's not like I have a lot of options here, Konan! We don't all have your natural beauty, you know. I look like a dog!" Deidara sobbed into his hands right in front of her.

Konan moaned. This was a pain, alright. She had to shut him up somehow. She couldn't stand to see him cry like this. She came over and put her hands around his trembling shoulders. "Shhh, shh… It's ok. You don't look like a dog. And believe me, I'm not that beautiful. I never thought I was. I've never even dated."

He sniffled. "R- really?"

"It's all true." She patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about such things, ok? You don't need make-up. Nothing is better than the natural thing."

Deidara lifted his head and looked at her with his puffy red eyes. "So you think I'm pretty?"

She really wanted to knock some sense into him. But she restrained herself. "Of course I do. You've got a cute face. I mean, look at you. Not a single blemish on your face. And I could never get my hair this silky soft."

Deidara wiped his tears away. "Well, that is true… I take great pride in it. My flawless skin and my hair." He ran his hand through it as if proving a point. "So do you think I have a shot with Itachi?"

Konan didn't know what to say. "Uh… sure. You never know with him. I know he's single." She was torn between feeling sick and wanting to encourage this and get back at Itachi a little by setting him up with Deidara.

Deidara started braiding his hair absentmindedly, looking at the floor. It seemed that he was seriously considering going out with Itachi. Maybe feeding into this would be alright. Konan knew when to stop and intended not to go overboard. She would just help him out a little.

"Maybe if you showed off a little more of your body, he'd go for it."

The suggestion was taken and Deidara bounced. "Oh! I've got so many ideas! What look do you think I should go for? I don't want to look slutty. Maybe tease is a good way to go… What do you think?"

Maybe she should back out now. "Uh… Well, let's not go all out at once. Just show off a little. For example, you could… take off the coat you have on."

Deidara looked down at his Akatsuki robe. "Oh. No problem!" He undid the front buttons and slipped it off his shoulders and tossed it on the bed. He placed his hands on his hips, shifting them from side to side teasingly. "What do you think?"

She looked at him, dressed only in his pants and fishnet undershirt. "Good."

"Oh, I have an idea." Deidara let down his hair and brushed half of it over one shoulder. "This good? This goes with the tease look, right?"

"Sure?" This was weird. She wanted little part of this. The only thing that kept her going was the look on Itachi's face.

* * *

The Uchiha was going down a check list in his mind. He wanted to do as much as possible before his time was up and the hypnosis wore off. Just a day left. Less than that now, probably. If only he knew the other commands Konan had given to people. Zetsu, Kakuzu… What were theirs? He could think of a few things he wanted to do to them. Doing it to the same people over and over again would get boring after a while. Now that Kisame was in on it, it was both entertaining as well as limiting. What to do, what to do?

A door opened and Sasori came toddling slowly into the hall with sleepy eyes. It looked like he had just woken up. He had one hand on the door and the other rubbing his eyes. He looked up at Itachi and then down the hall. "Where's Konan..?" he mumbled.

"No idea." His answer was honest.

Sasori gnawed on his sleeve in a child-like fashion. He let out a yawn and wandered further into the hall, looking around. Itachi started to wonder if Sasori could amuse him for a while. Not that he wasn't cute like this. But he wanted to see what else he could do to him. He started to reach out to tap his forehead. Suddenly Sasori ran off, his eyes big with excitement. "Konan!"

Itachi quickly stuck his hands in his pockets, feigning innocence. But Konan wasn't looking at him. She had her arms out, welcoming Sasori into an embrace. She picked him up and carried him off. As Itachi followed after them, a leg was thrown into his path. He stopped. Deidara had planted his foot into the wall, blocking his way like a traffic gate. Itachi looked up and shuddered immediately.

Deidara was leaning against the wall in a seductive pose. He pushed himself off the wall, chest first and leaned into Itachi who was already backing up. His fingers walked up Itachi's chest and came to rest on his shoulder. Deidara stroked Itachi's chin with his thumb. "Hi, Itachi-kun…"

Itachi whimpered. Something he never did.

Deidara backed Itachi into the wall and stood in front of him, one hand still on his shoulder. "So… what are you doing tonight?"

"I- I'm… busy…"

Deidara pursed his lips together and whispered into his ear. "Then maybe you and I could get busy together…"

Itachi used a substitution jutsu and escaped, running down the hall as fast as he could. "Kisame!" At first he thought it was funny, but now that Deidara had a crush on him, it was suddenly very disturbing. His partner had to undo whatever he did to this blond psycho.

Deidara watched him run away with a pout. Then he stomped his foot on the ground with rage. "Uragh! Why doesn't he like me?! I'm hot!"

Sasori watched his partner, confused. He tugged on Konan's sleeve. "What's wrong with Deidara?"

"Oh, nothing. He's just being weird today, that's all."

Deidara was still throwing a fit at the end of the hall. "He thinks I'm a tramp! I knew it!"

* * *

With Sasori distracted with other things, no longer paying attention to Konan, she decided to check up on Deidara and see how he was doing. She went to her room first, knowing that there was a good chance of him being there. Sure enough, there he was… sewing. "Ok, come on."

Deidara looked up, tossing the needle aside. He had made alterations to one of his spare outfits, converting it into a dress, which he happened to be wearing that very moment.

"So…" Konan said slowly. "What is this?" She gestured to the dress he was wearing, which used to be a coat used for winter settings.

"Itachi hated how I looked. I looked like a tramp. Maybe now he'll notice me."

"Oh, he'll notice, alright."

Deidara started crying again. "Why doesn't he like me?!" he wailed.

Not this again. Konan rushed to comfort him. She patted his shoulders and held him.

"I'd be a good wife to him."

Oh, God, not this…

Deidara sniffled. "Really, I would be. I'd fix him a good breakfast every morning, wish him a good day. I'll even pack his lunch for him and everything. And when he comes home at night, I'll draw him a nice bath and cook him a romantic candle-lit dinner and then we'll snuggled up by the fire and cuddle together and talk. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"… Yeah…"

"I mean, that's what guys want, don't they? A woman who treats them right."

Key word there was 'woman'.

Deidara bawled into his hands. Ok, girls were emotional, but come on! This was ridiculous.

"It's ok… You know how Itachi can be. It's nothing personal. He might have just run away because he was nervous."

Deidara pulled away, enraged again. "I know why he ran away and it's not because of that! It's because I look like a dyke!"

"Wha-? No, no! Of course you don't. You're very, er… pretty and uh… feminine. There's no way-"

"How could he even tell I'm a woman! I'm flat as a board!" Deidara grabbed his chest with both hands. "See?! I have no boobs!"

_No kidding_… "Some guys don't like big boobs… Have you considered…?"

Deidara suddenly reached out with both hands and grabbed Konan's breasts. She yelp, tensing up to refrain from slugging him. "See? Yours are bigger than mine! Of course you'd say that. You've got to be confident with those sweater puppies!"

"Ok! You can let go of them now!"

Deidara faced away, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I wish I had girls like those I could be proud to show off."

_This time tomorrow, no you won't_…

Konan just went along with it. She offered comfort when needed and agreed with him when it was her best bet to stay alive. Somehow, after twenty minutes of ranting and crying and pouting and tantrums, they had found themselves sitting on the bed together, talking normally. Now it really did seem like girl talk. As long as Deidara was calm and not obsessing about looks and boys, Konan counted her blessings and went along with it. As a girl, Deidara was a lot more insightful and sensitive than he normally would be. He actually talked about his feelings and wasn't afraid to share.

He playfully placed his leg over Konan's lap, getting her attention. "What's with guys, anyway? They say we're confusing… What about them? We're just objects to them, aren't we? Always looking for a new model and they get bored of it so easily."

"I know what you mean."

"I mean, can't we have a normal, healthy relationship? Why does it always have to be about looks and sex?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you never know if a guy's going to like you or not. You really like someone but you're afraid to make a move because they might not feel that way about you and then you screwed everything up. Now you can't even be friends because it's too awkward, him now knowing how you feel and wanting no part of it. But then if you don't make a move, how's the guy going to know? Maybe he feels the same way but is too afraid to tell you, leaving you to make the move yourself. You just can't win, can you?"

This was the insightful thing Konan was rather impressed with. Deidara hit it right on the nose. This was pretty freaky. How did Deidara know what girls thought about? The relationship talk was the thing Konan connected with the most. She did really like someone. He was more than a friend to her but she wasn't sure what to do about it. How did the Akatsuki leader feel about her? Would her feelings ever be returned? Was this really love or just a deep connection with a childhood friend who shared similar views with each other?

The topic was changed when Deidara nudged her playfully. "What's the weirdest dream you have ever had?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember any of your dreams?"

"Well… some of them."

"Same here. I forget most of mine." Deidara braided a strand of his hair. "How is it that we remember our nightmares better than we can our regular dreams?"

"I guess they stick with you so much because it's so scary..?" Konan said. "They make an impression on you."

"I suppose so." Deidara finished braiding his hair, unraveled it and braided it again. "I once had this nightmare when I was a little kid… I still remember it, too. I was in a house. It wasn't my house, but in the dream I acted like it was mine. Anyway, suddenly these zombie things came out of the walls and floorboards and attacked me and my family. They dragged my parents down and I ran outside. They were coming out of the ground and everything. Then this guy showed up and grabbed me and put a knife to my throat. Then I started yelling at myself, as if I were watching a movie and the character was breaking the fourth wall. I screamed at myself to wake up. I'm like 'Deidara, wake up! Wake up!' And then I woke up."

"So you escaped your dream before it got any worse."

"Yeah. It was freaky. But I still remember it." He looked down and laughed softly. "You know, there's one thing missing from all this."

"What is it?"

"A big tub of ice cream. All we need is one right here between us and then it would be real girl talk, right?" He started giggling at the very idea. "God, now I want ice cream."

Konan shook her head and started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

She didn't want to tell him the real reason why she was laughing. "It's nothing. If we did have ice cream it would melt and get all over your new dress."

Deidara pouted and played with the hem of his dress. "Like I care. This thing makes me look fat anyway. Same thing with the ice cream. If I even look at the stuff, I gain, like, ten pounds."

Konan had a feeling that another tantrum was about to ensue and wanted to stop it before that happened. But a small part of her wanted Deidara to stay the way he was. Should she return him to normal or wait?

The decision was made for her when Deidara stood up and opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Konan asked.

"I have something to do real quick. Just some chores I promised myself that I would do."

Konan got off the bed. "I'd better come with you." Just in case…

* * *

This madness can't go on... but it must!

Please review! ^-^


	29. Dressed To Dei-Press

**Chapter 29: Dressed To Dei-Press**

"You're pathetic, Itachi."

That's what Kisame kept telling him as they walked down the hallway together. Itachi was currently using him as a shield, hiding from Deidara in case he came around a corner and tried to kiss him again. Simply rejecting his date offers wasn't going to be enough. Deidara wanted him bad, which made Itachi sick to his stomach.

"I wish you'd get rid of that command you gave him. It's causing me no end of problems." Itachi peered around Kisame's larger body to see if Deidara was lurking nearby.

"This is mild at best, Itachi. Besides, it's funny. Even you said so."

"That was before he tried to kiss me!"

"Man, I wish I was there to see it. Sounds hilarious."

"Not from my perspective."

"Which makes it even funnier from my end." Kisame looked around the corner for Itachi. "It's clear. Oh, what happened to Hidan, by the way?"

"No clue. He ran off after lunch and I haven't seen him since." Itachi sighed. "Too bad. I could use him right about now. I could chuck him at Deidara if he comes too close."

"That I'd love to see. You picking him up and throwing him at the little hooker."

"Thank God he doesn't actually look like one." They opened the kitchen door and found Deidara, still wearing his new dress, running around the room, humming. "Deidara's in a dress… That's almost as bad, but just as freaky. I'm out of here." Itachi turned around and left Kisame in the kitchen with the cross dresser.

Deidara looked up and waved at Kisame. "Dinner's nowhere near ready yet. We haven't even started."

"Then what are you doing in here?"

He pointed to a vase he had in the middle of the table. "I wanted to make it look nice in here. It was so depressing before. Now look at the pretty flowers. I just picked them a minute ago."

"We're not supposed to leave the building."

"I know, but it was close by and I couldn't resist. Look how pretty they are." Deidara smelled the flowers and smiled.

Kisame looked at the cloth Deidara had smoothed over the table. "What's with that?"

"It's a tablecloth. I thought it would look nice. And now the flowers have something to rest on. It really ties the room together. Now we can have a decent meal. We may be stuck here for a while, but that's no reason to have it look like a prison."

Kisame had no idea what to say. This was funny as well as disturbing. "So, uh… When is dinner?"

"In a few hours. Be patient." Deidara moved to the other side of the room. "Do you have anything for me to wash, Kissy?"

"Kissy?" Kisame grimaced at the nickname. "Did you just call me Kissy?"

Deidara didn't answer him. "I'm doing a wash. Do you have anything I need to clean?"

Kisame held tightly to his coat. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"Just because you're a fish, doesn't mean you have to smell like one." Deidara moved to another part of the room and then back.

"Stop moving around so much. If you want to clean something, then wash the floor or something."

"Already done." Deidara pointed to the floor. "I've already mopped in here. It's all clean. But I'm sure you'll fix that at dinner and give me something else to clean."

"You sound like my mother…"

"And I'm sure you listened to her as much as you are me right now, am I right?"

Kisame cocked his head to the side. "I have no idea what you just said."

"Figured as much." Deidara opened the door and saw Hidan looked down one of the hallways. "Danny, what are you doing?"

He didn't turn around.

Deidara went over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Danny?"

He turned and glared at him. "What'd you just call me?"

"Danny. I was going to call you Hidanny, but that doesn't sound very good, does it?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't call me that." He looked back down the hallway. "And if you must know, I'm looking for Itachi. I've got a bone to pick with him."

"Wait until dinner. That's when everyone shows up. Nothing gets men to gather like dinner."

Hidan ignored him and kept an eye out for Itachi. The first thing he was going to do was punch him in the mouth. "That Uchiha's going down..!"

* * *

Konan and Deidara met up again in her room. He wanted to gather her clothes and wash them with his and anything else he could pick up. She didn't like the idea of him touching her clothes, even if she did like the idea of him doing laundry for her. He was a great housekeeper and had cleaned the whole kitchen for her and mopped the halls. The line had to be drawn somewhere.

"I'll do it. You work too hard," she told him.

Deidara jumped on the bed and sat next to her. "So, Kisame was asking about dinner. Is there a theme you wanted to go with tonight or is it catchers-catch-can?"

"Just whatever we can find around here. We are limited."

"Oh, ok."

Konan wanted to change him back after dinner. That way she wouldn't have to cook and could take a break. But she felt guilty about having him do all the work. And she didn't want anyone at dinner to find out, who didn't already know, that Deidara thought he was a girl. Quit while you're ahead. She had a gut feeling that things were going to get worse the longer this went on. Her mind was made up. No more housekeeper Deidara.

"Um…" she started. "I wanted to do something before I forgot."

"Yeah?" he asked, moving closer. "What is it? Guy troubles?"

She stopped before she could clap her hands. "Well…" He was insightful like this. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to hear him out one last time before it was all over. "Yeah. It's what we were talking about before. There is a guy that I like. We've been friends for a while. We're really close, but I'm not sure if I should make a move. I kind of like how things are right now."

"They could get better."

"Yeah. But I like how things are. I just want to know if I mean a lot to him, like I feel about him. You know what I mean?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think I do."

"We are partners and have been for a long, long time."

"Sounds to me like he cares a lot about you. If he didn't, he would have changed partners by now. Sounds to me like he wants to keep you close. Do you want to see him happy?"

Konan nodded. "Yeah, I really do. I share a vision with him. I, too, want a place of peace. He feels that we can create it."

"See? He said 'we', didn't he?"

"Yeah, but…"

Deidara held her hand and looked into her face. "Sounds to me like the best thing you can do, is be by his side and give him what he needs. Right now, he really needs you there to support him. Help guide him and keep him on the right path. Comfort him and talk to him. Be by his side and keep him company. It seems to me that what makes him happy is having you there with him. Things don't have to change. There are different kinds of love, you know. It doesn't have to be romance but you can still love each other."

It helped hearing it from him. His answer was so honest and true. She didn't have to make a move. Things could go on as they were. Nothing had to change. They were both working towards something great. They were happy just being together. She wanted to see him happy and see him succeed. So far, she didn't regret anything.

"Thanks. That helps a lot."

"Not a problem." Deidara smiled at her.

She was going to miss this. She clapped her hands. "Sleep."

Deidara fell forward into her lap.

She stroked his back. She knew they wouldn't be close when he woke up. At least she got to thank him while she had the chance. "When you wake up, you will no longer think you're a girl. You will recognize and see yourself as a boy." What else could she do while he had him under control..?

Just down the hall from her room, Itachi and Kisame sat together in the hall. They had seen Deidara go into Konan's room and now that things were quiet, they had a feeling that something was going on in there.

"Should we have made them do a little mud wrestling while we were at it?" asked Kisame.

"Nah, that would just be creepy."

"Yeah, guess you're right." Kisame looked up at the ceiling. "So… when do you think he's going to wake up and go back to being a guy again?"

"WHY THE HELL AM I IN A DRESS?!" Deidara's voice boomed from behind the closed door.

"There he is," Itachi sighed and the two stood up. No matter what, this was going to be entertaining.

Deidara, now in his right gender and state of mind, kicked the door off its hinges and stormed into the hallway. He looked left. Then right. He spotted Kisame and Itachi standing nearby and came up to them, gesturing to his new outfit. "What the hell is this?! Why am I wearing this thing?!"

"It suits you," Kisame teased.

"Shut up! Answer me! Why am I dressed this way? What happened?"

The two shrugged. "No idea."

"Don't lie to me!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Kisame stifled a laugh. "Sorry, Dei-Dei… chan!"

The two partners burst out laughing.

"St- stop laughing! Tell me what happened! Tell me right now, hn!" He hit himself with the headband he had tied around his waist. "Ow!"

They laughed harder.

"Stop it!"

"Don't throw a fit or you might break a nail!" Kisame had tears he was laughing so hard.

Itachi tried to stop laughing but when he saw how angry Deidara was and that dress he was wearing, he couldn't help but laugh even more. "Oh, man! I love you, Kisame!" This turned out to be an awesome suggestion for Deidara to take. "You're awesome for this."

"I try, I try…"

"What the hell are you two talking about?! Tell me!" Deidara stomped his foot on the ground again. "Jerks!"

* * *

Something's going to happen. Read the next chapter to find out what ;)

Please review! ^-^


	30. I Spy

**Chapter 30: I Spy **

Hidan banged his head against the wall. He had Itachi in his sights when he was laughing at Deidara with his partner, but didn't take the shot. He was using his brain with this one. He let his guard down last time and he ended up paying for it. He had no idea what power Itachi had over him or what he was making him do, but he wanted it to stop. He had to get back at him, but how? He knew that if he got too close, Itachi would do whatever he did before and nothing would get done. If only he knew what triggered him to get into that state.

"What are you doing skulking about like this?" came Zetus's voice.

Hidan wasn't startled. He knew he was being watched. "I'm trying to figure something out. I need to figure out how Itachi keeps getting me to black out like that. I don't remember anything. Suddenly, I'm somewhere else and can't remember how I got there. But I know he did it."

"I know he did it, too," said the White half. "I'm not the spy in Akatsuki for nothing, you know. I've got skills."

"Well, if you've got skills, then can you use them to tell me how he's doing this to me and who else is under his power?"

"Not a problem. I've seen him do it. He snaps his fingers and you go down."

Hidan turned around. "R- really? That's the trigger he uses? He snaps his fingers?"

"Yup. He also says a phrase. He asks if you're going his way and then you follow him around like a zombie and do whatever he says."

"Ah-ha!" Now he had the information he needed. Now he could plot how he was going to get back at him and could figure out a way around those triggers so he wouldn't become a victim of his again. "Perfect. Now if only I had someone on my said I could use…"

"You know why he and Kisame were laughing at Deidara?" asked Zetsu. "It's because he's a victim of his, also. He manipulated Deidara, too."

"Dude! Really?" He wanted to follow that up with a curse, but his command still wouldn't let him do that. "Say… what's his trigger, then? Deidara's, I mean."

Zetsu's Black half answered this time. "He gave that information to Kisame. Told him to have a little fun. I'm sure he knows it, too."

"Did you happen to hear what it was?"

The White half answered. "I think it went, if I heard him correctly… You clap and say the word 'sleep' and he'll do whatever you tell him to do. To wake him up, you have to say 'up and at 'em'. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what it is."

"Awesome, thanks, man!" Hidan ran off to find Deidara. It was time to finish this and get his revenge on Itachi. He started running up and down halls, trying to find him. He ended up outside Deidara's room and knocked on the door loudly.

"What?!" Deidara hollered from inside.

"It's me! Let me in!"

The door opened and Deidara showed him inside. "What do you want? I'm in the middle of getting rid of all this crap." He held up a fistful of flowers. In his girl-state, he had thought they made a cute addition to the room. Now, he found them to be an eyesore. "Freaking idiots pranking me…"

"Deidara, I need you to listen." This time he didn't bark at his name. Konan had changed that for him while she was fixing his gender. "I've got to get back at Itachi. He's been screwing with all of us."

"So what do you want me to do about it?"

"First I want to see of this actually works." Hidan forced Deidara into a chair, making him sit down.

"What are you..?"

He clapped his hands. "Sleep."

Deidara slumped in his seat. It appeared to work. Now for phase one of his plan.

"Deidara, when I touch your shoulder and say the word 'mine', you will become my slave and do whatever I say. And while you're in that state, you will no longer be able to hear Itachi's voice. You will only obey me. Understand?"

He nodded. "… I will obey…"

"Prefect." Hidan rubbed his hands together gleefully. He couldn't wait to set this into motion. "Up and at 'em."

* * *

Itachi was counting the moments before everything went back to normal. Dinner wouldn't be for another hour or two. After that, the others started to go to bed one by one within the next three hours. Then it would be dawn. Konan said that it would be a full week. Which meant it would wear off one week from the time she actually opened the scroll and unleashed its power. She said she opened it in the afternoon. Which meant that everyone would return to normal in the afternoon sometime. He only had a few hours left. There was still so much fun to be had.

Kisame was walking side by side with Itachi, plotting who they should mess with next. Itachi wondered about Kisame. What if something happened and he needed Kisame for something? Simply saying 'shark skin' wasn't going to help him in a pinch. He knew Hidan had been tailing him all day. He wasn't too worried. He could always make him a mindless puppet again. But this puppet was learning. Hidan may have been an idiot in his opinion, but he did have a brain in that spacious skull of his. He saw glimpses of that outside the bathroom when he thought that covering his ears would be enough to save him. Which was true. If he didn't hear the trigger, he wouldn't be effected. He needed a backup in case anything happened. You never knew.

"Waterfall."

Kisame fell sideways into Itachi, back in a trance. Itachi supported him with his hands and shoulder, making his commands quick and simple.

"Kisame, when I, and only I, tug on your sleeve like so…" He demonstrated, tugging gently but deliberately on Kisame's sleeve. "You will become my willing and obedient slave and do whatever I tell you without question." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

He stood up, blinking. "Did you say something just now, Itachi?"

"No."

"Alright." Kisame gave it no further thought.

Something moved and the two stopped. Hidan was standing in front of them at the end of the hall with a smug look on his face. He grinned at them. "Well, well, if it isn't Itachi. How have things been going for you? Pretty easy, I bet."

Hidan was up to something. "What do you want?" asked Itachi.

"Payback would be nice. I know you've been using your Sharingan on me to make me do things I can't remember."

"You should be thankful of that."

"Shut up. You're not gonna be doing that anymore. I'm not gonna take it."

"Like you have a choice." Itachi prepared to speak the trigger. Then he saw Hidan cover his ears with both hands. He was using his head after all. Smart. But not smart enough. "You really think that'll help you?"

Deidara stepped around Hidan with a growl. "Why are you blocking the hall? People gotta get places, you know."

Hidan smirked and placed his hand on Deidara's shoulder. "Mine." Deidara's shoulders slumped and a distant look spread across his face. Hidan grinned. "Now go over there and punch Itachi for me."

Deidara turned and leapt at Itachi, swinging his fist. Itachi ducked behind Kisame and ran around him in a full circle. "Going my way!" Hidan didn't react. But he had taken one hand off his ear. He should have heard him. "Going my way! Going my way!"

Hidan's grin widened and he removed both hands from his ears. "Sorry, did you say something? I'm afraid I can't hear you." He tilted his head to the side, showing off the earplugs he had attached.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Where in hell..?"

"Like 'em? I borrowed them from Kakuzu. He says I snore. Now where were we? Oh, yes. Deidara! Punch him in the face!"

Itachi ducked as Deidara swung at his head, hitting Kisame instead. Itachi escaped down the hall, but he was followed shortly after. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Kisame was following neck and neck with Hidan. "Partner!" he shouted and Kisame's leg jerked out, tripping Hidan. That only bought him a moment. The foursome ended up in the living area. Itachi grabbed Kisame's sleeve and tugged. He, too, got the same look on his face that Deidara had. "Kisame, go over there and hit Hidan in the face."

Kisame turned and slugged Hidan across the face. Hidan staggered into a wall, holding his jaw. "Oh, yeah?" He kicked over the couch and ducked behind it. "Deidara, slap Itachi in the face!"

Deidara obeyed and slapped Itachi. Itachi overturned a table and hid behind it. They had turned the living room into a battlefield. Neither one was going to give up. "Kisame, punch Hidan!"

Kisame punched Hidan's shoulder as he moved to get away.

"Oh, yeah?! If that's how you're playing, we'll play! Deidara, punch Itachi!"

He punched Itachi in the face.

"Kisame, bite Hidan!"

His partner bent down and bit Hidan's shoulder.

"Oww!" Hidan pulled away, examining the blood flowing freely down his arm. "Grr! Deidara! Pull Itachi's hair!"

Deidara grabbed Itachi's ponytail and pulled. Itachi's head tilted back and he cried out in pain. "Ahh! Hair-pulling, Hidan? Really? What are you? Fight like a man, you puss!"

Hidan couldn't hear him with the earplugs so he didn't retort.

_So we're just going to use each other's slaves against each other like this? _Thought Itachi. _Oh, think outside the box, Hidan_… "Kisame, grab Deidara and hold him down!" With him out of the way, Hidan would have to come after him himself. During their struggle, Itachi would take out the earplugs. This made a lot more sense than going back and forth like they were doing. No slave to carry out the orders given, he wouldn't get hurt.

Kisame rushed at Deidara and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground. Hidan peered over the couch and saw what was happening. "Deidara, don't let Kisame pin you! Get up!" Now Deidara was putting up a fight. He twisted his body until he was on top of Kisame. He didn't fight back, until Itachi ordered him to do so.

"Pin Deidara, Kisame! Hold him down!"

Kisame rolled, taking Deidara with him. The two started rolling across the floor, each trying to pin the other and not get pinned themselves.

Hidan poked his head out from behind the couch and saw a kunai being thrown at his head. He ducked and watched it sink into the wall behind his head. "Yeah? That the best you got?" Hidan returned fire. Itachi remained behind the table. He had already come up with a plan. Shadow clones. He peered around the table and looked at the couch. Hidan threw more kunai his way. He ducked again. "Coward!"

Itachi just wanted the earplugs out. Not kill him. No matter how much he wanted to. He set his plan into action.

Hidan looked up and saw Itachi heading his way, running from the table to the couch. A direct attack? It was an obvious trick. Sure enough, when he threw a kunai his way, Itachi popped in a puff of smoke. A shadow clone. "Nice try!"

"It was, wasn't it?" came Itachi's voice from behind him. Hidan moved aside just as the man behind him went to grab his arm. He backed up into another Itachi and was held down. The second one reached for his earplugs.

"Deidara! Protect me! Stop Itachi!"

Deidara started his way, tossing Kisame aside like he was nothing. Deidara held back Itachi, wrestling him to the ground. "Like this, master?"

"Perfect. Good jo…" Hidan blinked. Wait a minute… If he could hear Deidara and Itachi speaking to him, then didn't that mean..? He touched his ears. The earplugs were still in. Then how did he..? Unless…

Hidan grabbed one of the kunai and stabbed himself in the leg. He yelped and opened his eyes. He was still behind the couch, Deidara and Kisame were still grappling. And there was Itachi, standing between the table and the couch, coming his way. When he saw Hidan look at him, he stopped.

"You dirty little..!" Hidan threw more weapons at Itachi. He retreated behind the table, ducking in cover. "You used your Sharingan on me! You son of a…"

It was a good try, but alas…

Now that it was time to start dinner, Konan finished up her game with Sasori and started toward the kitchen. He followed after her, holding her hand. When she got to the living area, she stopped and stared. The ground was littered with kunai and various weapons. The coffee table had blood on it and so did the couch, both of which were overturned on opposite sides of the room as if they were being used as forts for some child's game. Kisame and Deidara were wrapped in each other's arms, still trying to dominate the other and pin them down as they promised their masters. Their masters, on the other hand, were each laying flat on their backs in the center of the room, panting heavily, covered with bruises and cuts. Itachi had a bloody mouth and Hidan had a black eye. Their clothing was torn and Hidan had lost a shoe. They were both completely out of breath and resting on the floor.

"Do you… do you give up yet..?" panted Hidan to Itachi.

"… N… Never…" Itachi responded. "You… you can… go to… hell… Hidan…"

They were both sprawled out at her feet, exhausted. Konan knew she heard banging and crashing for a reason but chose to ignore it. Now she knew.

"This is ridiculous," she said through her teeth.

The two raised their hands and pointed at each other. "He started it."

"I don't care, this has gone too far. Starting a war over this? You're acting like children. Now knock it off!"

Sasori poked his head out from behind Konan and wagged his finger at the two on the floor. "Yeah, knock it off." He looked up at Konan, smiling and seeking approval. She patted his head and led him through the battlefield and toward the kitchen.

Hidan and Itachi lifted their heads, looking at each other upside-down.

"You give up?" asked Itachi.

"What?" Hidan reached up to take out one of his earplugs, then stopped. "Nice try…"

"Do… You. Give. Up?" Itachi mouthed the words carefully.

Hidan read his lips and narrowed his eyes at him. "Never. You?"

"Nev… er…"

They rolled onto their stomachs and crawled toward each other. They sat up at the same time, faced each other and punched. They hit each other at the same time and they each went down. Itachi spat out more blood and Hidan whined softly, laying on his shoulder. Maybe Konan was right. Maybe this was going a bit too far.

* * *

Nah.

Please review! ^-^


	31. Not Funny

**Chapter 31: Not Funny**

Sasori sat at the table swinging his legs and looking around at all the people eating around him. This was how he amused himself, knowing that he didn't need food like the others. He had plenty to look at. Itachi and Hidan both had swollen faces and torn clothing. The blood had been cleaned up, but it was clear that these two had gotten into some fight. Sasori had no idea what they could have been fighting about, but it must have been important.

Deidara and Kisame had been brought out of their submissive states and were now eating with the rest, wondering why Hidan and Itachi looked so beat up. Kisame was also wondering why Hidan had earplugs and refused to take them out for anything. Though he was curious, he never bothered to ask about them.

Deidara tossed his soup down with an angry sigh. "We've been having soup a lot lately. Isn't there anything else?"

"You could always make yourself a sandwich," said Konan. "Or you could always make your own dinner."

"Like I'm not busy with my own stuff." He looked across the table at Hidan. "And what's with him, anyway? He's ignoring everybody."

"Leave him be."

Deidara didn't take the advice and looked at Hidan. "Hey." He kept eating, never looking up. "I said hey!" Deidara called louder. "Hidan!"

"He can't hear you. He has earplugs in."

"What? What the hell for?" Deidara threw his spoon at Hidan's head. "Hey!"

The spoon bounced off his skull and Hidan looked up. "What?"

"Why do you have earplugs in?"

Hidan blinked. "What?"

"Why! Do! You! Have! Ear! Plugs! In!" Deidara shouted, pointing at his ears with both hands.

Kakuzu slapped Deidara in the back of the head. "Shut up! Keep it down!"

Deidara took a swing back at him and missed. "Mind your own business!"

Hidan pointed to his ears. "Why do I have these in?" he asked. Deidara nodded. "It's because of that jerk-face over there." He pointed to Itachi with his spoon.

Itachi slurped his soup casually.

"Don't look innocent. You know what you did!"

"Partner."

Kisame's leg jerked out and kicked Hidan's shin.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Sorry."

Itachi slurped.

Hidan looked back down at his bowl, grumbling to himself.

Itachi raised his bowl to his face and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Partner." Kisame kicked Hidan again, right at his knee joint.

"Ow! Son of a… hog-nosed, bucked-toothed, piece of… chicken liver!" He still couldn't manage a real curse. Hidan swung his legs up onto his chair and sat on them. With his feet no longer touching the floor, he couldn't be kicked so easily. "Ha-ha!"

Itachi knew Hidan couldn't hear him so he was free to make all the triggers he wanted and Hidan would never know. He could also insult him all he wanted as well. Still, it wasn't as fun as it would be if he could hear him. He finished off his soup and set the bowl on the table.

"Finished already?" asked Kisame.

"Yeah. I didn't have much. Could you pass the bread, please?"

Kisame handed him the basket of sliced bread and Itachi helped himself to two pieces.

"Thanks." He set one of the slices down and began to tear the other one into smaller pieces. He rolled them into little balls and started to flick them at Hidan.

Hidan felt the small rounded pieces of bread hitting him in the face and neck and looked up, right into Itachi's eyes. Itachi wiggled his eyebrows and Hidan looked back down with a growl. "Jerk."

"Love you, too, Hidan." He flicked another piece into his face.

Sasori decided to try to take part in some of the conversations and looked up at Konan. "Guess what?"

"What?" she asked, sounding interested. She gave him her full attention.

"I heard it raining before."

"You did?" She sounded surprised. It was the same tone of voice an adult would use when speaking to their children while listening to their stories. "How about that?"

"Yeah, yeah. So I went to the front room and looked out the window. It was raining alright. It wasn't pouring or nothing, but it was coming down a lot. I saw puddles."

"Did you really?" She fed right into his storytelling. It made him feel great. He went on, excited.

"Uh-huh. And on the windows… The windows all had water running down them. The water was sliding down like whoosh. It looked like a waterfall."

On the other side of the table, Kisame's eyes closed. Itachi looked up, realizing that Sasori had accidentally spoken the trigger. He quickly nudged his partner, trying to wake him quickly. "Awake. Awake."

Kisame opened his eyes. That was close.

"Was it really?" Konan asked Sasori, amused.

"Yup!" He beamed at her.

Kakuzu pushed Deidara's bowl to the side. "You're in my space. Move."

"It's the table, you moneygrubber. It's not yours."

"It may not belong to me, but this area here… You see this? This is mine. My area and I do not want you in it."

"I can put my bowl here if I want." Deidara pushed it back to where it was.

"You're too close. This is my space."

"Who cares?"

"I do. Very much. I don't like you or your things in my personal space."

Deidara pushed his bowl even closer to Kakuzu, along with his glass of water, the bread basket, the pitcher and four spoons.

"Knock it off," Kakuzu warned.

Deidara tapped the bottom of his bowl on the table my his elbow, taunting him.

"I said stop it."

Sasori went on with his story to Konan. "Yup! It was just like a real waterfall."

Kisame's eyes closed again. Before Itachi could wake him up, he heard Deidara speaking to Kakuzu.

"Oh, make out with your partner like you've always wanted to."

"Awake."

Itachi was two seconds too late. The moment Kisame was brought out of his trance, he turned to Itachi and lunged. He grabbed him by the shoulders and puckered his lips.

"Whoa, no! No, no, no!" Itachi turned his head to the side, trying to avoid those lips. "Stop it!"

"I'm making out with you like I've always wanted to." He kept trying to kiss Itachi.

Itachi kicked and turned his head from side to side. His foot kicked over Hidan's bowl of soup, spilling it on the table and in his face. Hidan growled and tried to ignore it. Unable to hear what was happening, he had no idea why Itachi had knocked it over, other than him being childish. Kisame moved closer, still trying to kiss him. Itachi cried out in protest and covered Kisame's mouth with his hand.

"Kisame! Stop it! Stop it! Ki- Kisame! Waterfall! Waterfall!"

Kisame collapsed on top of him, nearly crushing him under his body.

"You'll stop trying to make out with me! You never wanted to and you never will! Awake!"

Kisame sat up and looked down at Itachi. "What are you doing down there?"

"Shut up and help me!" Kisame pulled Itachi back into his seat and sat down himself.

"What was that about?" asked Kakuzu.

"Never mind." Itachi looked at Hidan across the table. "It's all because of your partner."

Kisame kicked straight out but missed Hidan's legs. Just to get in a hit, Itachi picked up the other piece of bread, which had soaked up much of the spilled soup and threw the whole thing into Hidan's face. The soggy piece of bread hit his left cheek and slid down his neck and under his coat. It was cold and wet. Hidan blew his short fuse and grabbed the pot of hot soup behind him and threw it. In his blind fury, he missed and hit Deidara instead.

He screamed bloody murder, the hot soup and pot burning his face and upper torso. "Ahh! You ass-licking, son of a bitch!"

Sasori's jaw dropped and looked at Konan. "He said a swear!"

Deidara took the pot, jumped over the table and tried to bash in Hidan's skull. "Ow! It wasn't meant for you! Ow! I was- Ow! I was aiming for Itachi!" He wouldn't hear of it and kept clubbing him.

Itachi smirked. "It's not dinner without a show, eh, Kisame?"

Konan rolled her eyes and groaned. "God, I can't wait for tomorrow." It couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

Now that it was evening, things had calmed down as people started to head to their rooms for the night. Konan and Sasori cleaned up the kitchen together, making a game out of it. Then she carried him on her back to her room. He didn't want to sleep alone and needed her company. She tucked him in, making sure he was snug and satisfied. He wiggled under the covers, giggling. She tickled his ribs and he kicked. He wasn't ticklish, which made her wonder why he reacted in such a way. Perhaps it was just the love and affection that caused him to feel her tickle. She climbed into bed with him and started kissing his face. He squirmed and tried to hide his face from her lips, laughing all the while. He loved it.

Finally, she tucked him in again and climbed in next to him. "Ok, it's time to get some sleep."

As soon as she was in a laying position, Sasori snuggled up to her, wrapping his arm around her middle and hugging her close. He leaned up and gave her a small kiss on her cheek. "Good night, Konan."

She stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head. "Good night."

He cuddled her and settled down. Konan blew out the candle on the table by her bed, letting the room become pitch black. Within a few short minutes, she felt Sasori's grip grow slack and heard his soft breathing. He had fallen asleep.

Then she heard another sound. Footsteps. She looked at the closed door and saw a shadow pass slowly by on the floor. She smiled. It seemed like the other command she had given to Deidara before waking him up worked. He was carrying out her orders like a good hypnotized zombie.

Deidara had no idea what had possessed him to leave the warmth of his bed at such an hour, but he did. He vaguely remembered throwing off the covers and stepping onto the cold wooden floor and walking to his door. He didn't remember opening it or stepping outside. But he was walking. He was aware of that. Maybe he was still dreaming. He knew the floor was cold and hard but he didn't feel it. He didn't feel anything. His eyes were unfocused and heavy. It was like he was in a daze. His body was moving, but he couldn't remember deciding to do so. This whole thing could have just been a dream. Just a dream.

He walked to Itachi's room and stood in front of the door. Something was willing him inside. He wanted to go in. He had to. Deidara reached for the knob and turned it. He had to go inside. He opened the door and stepped inside, closing it. He looked at the bed against the wall. The room was pitch black. He couldn't see a thing, yet he knew where to go. Something was calling him to the bed. Deidara walked over and placed his knee on the mattress. Then the other. And he crawled. There was a mass in the middle of the bed, but he didn't care. He crawled over and laid down beside it. He breathed deeply, taking in the man's scent. Laying beside him like this, with his back to the wall, made Deidara feel safe. Having this person's body in front of him like this was like having a protective wall to guard him while he slept. The bed was warm from the man's heat making it easy to get comfortable. Deidara closed his eyes and relaxed.

Itachi shifted. He knew someone was in bed with him. He figured it was Kisame again. He would come into his room at some point in the night, complaining about how he couldn't stomach being in the same room as his beloved sword. Usually he slept on the floor, so this was unusual. Half asleep, Itachi mumbled to the figure behind his back. "Couldn't you sleep on the floor tonight? Personal space?"

The person behind him didn't respond.

Itachi sighed. "If you're that scared, just put a sheet over the thing or something. I don't want you in bed with me."

He felt hands creep around him and latch on tightly. He was being hugged. These arms didn't belong to Kisame. Now fully awake, Itachi reached for a light. He turned on a lamp and turned his head. He saw Deidara cuddling up to him, fast asleep.

"Deidara! Get off!"

He held tighter. Itachi tried to pry his hands off from around his body but it was no use. No matter how hard he tried, the more he fought, the tighter he held.

"Deidara!"

This was strange. Deidara was usually a deep sleeper but not this deep. He shook him, calling out his name. The more Itachi protested, the more he held on. Itachi sat up and wiggled to the edge of the bed, dragging Deidara along with him.

He backhanded Deidara across the face. "Wake up!"

He didn't. He stayed asleep.

Seeing this, Itachi knew this wasn't a natural sleep. This was programmed into him. He was told to come into his room and hold onto him and not let go or wake up. He knew who was responsible for this.

"Konan!"

Her bedroom door was kicked open and in came Itachi, wearing a human coat around his body. Konan flicked on a light and looked at him. "Yes?" she asked sweetly.

Itachi pointed to Deidara, still asleep and clinging to him. "You did this?" Though it was a question, he spoke it as a statement.

She nodded her head.

"Not funny!"

"It's a little funny."

"How do I get him off?" he demanded.

"Just splash some water in his face. He'll be fine."

Itachi slammed the door and stormed down the hall to the kitchen. He filled a glass from the sink and threw it in Deidara's face. "Wake up!"

The moment the water hit him in the face, Deidara woke up. He coughed and held tightly to Itachi, startled. "Wh- what? Where..? How did I..?" He looked at Itachi. "What the hell's going on?"

"Get off me!"

Realizing he was clinging to Itachi's body, he quickly let go. He wiped his face off on his undershirt and looked around the kitchen. "What am I doing here? What's going on?"

"Nothing," Itachi snarled. "Just go back to bed and stay out of mine."

Deidara watch him leave and tilted his head to the side. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

Hypnosis makes strange bedfellows, yes?

We're entering the last day of their fun. Which means this fanfic is almost at an end.

Review please! ^-^


	32. Hide and Sneak

**Chapter 32: Hide and Sneak**

Konan followed the hall to a dead end. She turned around and came back the way she came, tip toeing. She came upon another hall, this one linking with two others. This seemed promising. Just to be sure, she called down the hall. "Here I come. I'm coming! Are you down here?"

She heard giggling coming from down the hall. This was the right one. She entered the hall, moving slowly.

"I'm getting warmer… I know you're down here… I'm gonna find you..!"

Giggles came from behind one of the doors. She smirked to herself. It was coming from the door on the left. But giving him false hope seemed like fun. She'd play a trick on him.

Konan jiggled the doorknob on the right directly across from the one on the left. "I think you're in here. Am I right? You're in here, aren't you?" She jiggled the knob loudly. "I'm coming in." She quickly turned around and opened the door on the left, swinging it wide. "Found you!"

Sasori shrieked and backed away from the door, pressing his body against the back of the closet. "You found me! You found me!" He laughed and then jumped on her.

Konan hugged him and kissed the back of his neck, making him giggle. "You're good. I almost didn't find you." It was a lie. She knew where he was all along. A simple game of hide and seek was no challenge to her when she was playing against someone who didn't know how to stop his giggles from being heard. He also hid the way an average person would, which made it that much easier. Konan began to wonder if giving him a childish mind made him forget how to use his ninja arts. So far, Sasori hadn't used them at all. If he ever did, it was something so simple that it went unnoticed.

"But you did find me. So it's my turn again." Sasori parted from Konan and got ready to run.

"Is that how it works?" Konan asked, already knowing the rules of the game. "When do I get a turn?"

"When you can't find me. That's when you get it. Since you found me, I get to hide again."

"Ok." Konan knelt in front of the wall. "How high shall I count this time? Fifty?"

"Nah. I'm good, so I don't need long. Count to… uh…" Sasori looked down the hall, thinking. "Uh… thirty. Yeah, count to thirty."

"Very well." Konan faced the wall.

"And no peeking."

"I won't. Don't worry." Konan covered her eyes. She started to count out loud. "One… Two… Three… Four…"

"Slower," Sasori said.

"Five…" She heard his footsteps disappear as he ran down the hall and down another. She smiled. This was fun. She couldn't remember the last time she played. Even when she was younger and training with that Toad Sage and her friends, she didn't have time for games. Maybe she only played as a small child, long before she became a ninja. She couldn't remember. But playing these games with Sasori took her back to a time when she was free to have fun and play. This was nice.

Sasori ran from one room to another, checking to see if there were any good hiding places for him. Most of the rooms were empty. Then he found it. There was a living area full of places to hide. There was a couch and a coffee table, a small table with a lamp on it. And behind all of that was a very large cloth with pictures stitched into it. The tapestry seemed big enough for him to hide behind. He ran over and stood in front of the wall, turning his back to it. Then he pulled the tapestry over his face and body. Only his legs were visible, but the table with the lamp was right in front of him, hiding his legs. This was an excellent hiding place. Konan would never find him here.

As Sasori waited, he started to grow bored. This was the worst part of the game, waiting to be found. He really wanted to peek out from behind the thick cloth but he resisted. When two minutes passed, the urge was unbearable. He started to move to see if anyone was coming. Then he heard voices and went back into position, hiding. He held his breath and the footsteps got closer and the voices grew louder.

It wasn't Konan. In fact, it didn't sound like she was there at all. These were other people.

"He's an ass. He woke me up in the middle of the night with cold water in my face. I mean, who does that? What kind of sick prank was that? And I was having a really good sleep, too. Can't get too many of those very often. Not with all the running around and traveling and not having any real homes, just temp stuff, you know what I mean, right?"

"…"

"Hidan?"

"…"

There was a loud smack as one person kicked the other. "Hidan!"

"Ow! What?!"

"I asked you a question."

Sasori knew these voices. He recognized one of them as his partner and the other as Hidan's, which was louder than usual.

There was a pause and then Hidan answered. "What?"

"I asked you a question."

"… What?"

"Take those damn earplugs out of your head."

"What?!"

"Take! Out! Your! Ear! Plugs!"

"Take out the earplugs?!"

"Yeah!"

"No way! This gives me an advantage against Itachi if he comes around a corner and tries something!"

"But you can't hear anything."

"What?!"

"I said, you can't hear anything with them!"

"… What?! I can't hear you!"

"Give me those!"

"What are you doing?! Stop that! I'm keeping them in!"

"At least take them out when I'm around. Put them back in when Itachi shows up."

"I can't take them out on account of Itachi! He might sneak up on me!"

Deidara growled. "Just take one of them out so you can hear me!"

"I can't hear you!"

"That's why I said to take at least one of them out!"

"What'd you say?!"

"Take out one of those things so you can hear me! I don't wanna shout!"

"Hang on! I'll take one out so you don't have to shout!"

Deidara growled again.

Hidan sighed. "Whew… That's better. Now what were you saying?"

"I was saying… that Itachi is driving me nuts. He woke me up last night by throwing water in my face."

"What'd he do that for?"

"How the hell should I know? He just up and did it!"

"I told you he was up to something."

"No, I told you that."

"No, no, no. I told you."

"But I told you first."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did!"

Hidan groaned loudly. "Look, it doesn't matter. The point is that he's messing with our heads. He's doing stuff with his Sharingan."

"Are you sure?" asked Deidara.

"Positive. There are witnesses and I've proven it before."

"Oh, really? How?"

"I happen to know for a fact that our dear Uchiha has you under his spell as well as several others in this building."

Deidara stuttered. "H- how do you know?"

"Well…" Hidan gave a chuckle. "I've… sort of used it on you as well."

"Used… Used what on me?!"

"By using a trigger command, I can make you do anything I want and you'll be none the wiser."

Deidara didn't say anything for a moment. He made no sound at all. He seemed to be taking this all in slowly. Then at last, he answered him in a tone of voice Sasori was unfamiliar with. He had never heard Deidara speak with this voice before. He sounded nervous, frightened, skeptical and angry all at once. "H- how could I possibly do something without realizing I'm doing it? If someone told me to do something, obviously I know I'm doing it and what I'm doing."

"I'm not sure exactly how Itachi's Sharingan works, but he can trap people in Genjutsu. You know that."

"Yeah, but if it were simple Genjutsu, then this eye would see through it and dispel it. That's what I made it for, hn." There was a smack and Deidara yelped.

"I'm pretty sure you're doing that because he told you to."

"Doing what?"

"Hitting yourself. Why else would you do it?"

"… You have a point. I can't help myself and I have no idea I'm doing it."

"See what I mean?" Hidan said. "If he can do it and you have no idea what's going on and can't help yourself, someone else can do it, too. Which I've proven. I used it on you, too."

"Oh? What'd you make me do?"

"I, uh… Heh heh heh…" Hidan's voice grew quieter, chuckling sheepishly. "Nothing much. I just wanted to test it out to see if it really worked… So…"

"Yes? So..?" Deidara tried to coax an answer out of him.

"So I… sorta… made you…"

"Yes..?"

"… Think you were a girl."

Such a silence followed that caused Sasori to wonder if he had gone deaf. There was no sound. Not even breaths could be heard. Then the sound came back in a thunderous crash.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Hahahaha… It was funny, gotta admit that…"

"THAT WASN'T FUNNY! Oh, God… Is that why I woke up in a DRESS?!"

"Hehehe… It was a good look for you."

"I'll kill you!"

"Wait, wait, wait! If you think that's bad, imagine what Itachi's been doing to you."

Deidara was quiet again, stunned.

"Uh-huh. See? I just did that to test it out. Just imagine all the things Itachi's been doing to you. I'm not at fault here. What I did may be considered nothing compared to what he's done to you."

Deidara made a sound like a mouse with its tail stuck under a cat's paw, death looming over his head.

"Huh? Huh? You see? All I did was a test. He's been doing it to you and everyone else all week long."

Deidara's voice changed again. "I'll murder him..! If he thinks this is funny to tamper with someone's mind, we'll see who's laughing when I turn him into a living bomb which can be used over and over again and again! I'll make him beg for death when this is over! I want him so suffer!" Deidara's voice sounded demonic. It made Sasori tremble from his hiding place.

"Now, now… One thing at a time," said Hidan calmly. "Don't you want to know what the trigger is so you can get one step ahead of him like I did?"

Deidara's rage was temporarily quelled at the mention of this. "Yeah, yeah… What is it? What's the trigger? What does he do?"

"It's very simple and easy to remember."

"Get on with it. What's the trigger?" He wanted to avoid it if such a thing were possible. There was no way he was going to allow Itachi to control him any longer.

Hidan went on. "All he has to do to wake you up from the state is to say the phrase 'up and at 'em'. That's what brings you out of it."

"Ok, ok. Then what makes me go into it? What gets me in that state?"

"He just has to snap his fingers and say the word 'sleep'. Much like this." Hidan snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

It was quiet.

"Uh… are you sure?" asked Deidara. "Nothing happened."

"Huh." Hidan seemed just as confused as Deidara. Then... "Oh, wait. Maybe it's clapping that does it. Let me try again."

"Wait a minute. Are you trying to get me-?"

Hidan clapped. "Sleep." There was a loud thud and Deidara started snoring. "Ah, there it is. That's it. That was the trigger."

Sasori wanted to peek so bad, but he was afraid that Hidan might come after him or try to kill him. He stayed put and held his breath, listening.

"Up and at 'em."

He heard Deidara sit up, slightly groggy. "What did you..?"

"Relax, I didn't do anything but demonstrate. No need to worry. But now that you know what it is, you know to keep away from Itachi if he claps his hands. Just keep your ears covered. Once you're in that state, you'll do whatever the person tells you to do."

"So… only you and Itachi know about this trigger?"

"And Zetsu. He's the one who told me in the first place. You shouldn't have to worry. He's not the kind to mess around. He's not an immature child."

"There's that… As long as nobody else finds out about this, I should be fine."

"True dat!" Hidan smacked Deidara on the back. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" Hidan stuffed the earplug back into his ear and walked off, leaving Deidara to himself…

And the mischievous little Sasori who had poked his head out from behind the tapestry with an excited grin. Something new and fun had just popped up for him to play with. He wanted to see it for himself and have some fun.

He found a new game.

* * *

What will Little Sasori do?

Please review!


	33. Burst Your Bubble

**Chapter 33: Burst Your Bubble**

Sasori stepped out of his hiding place to engage Deidara in, what would hopefully be, a grand playtime. He had forgotten all about the game of hide and seek he was playing with Konan finding this game a lot more interesting. He had hoped what Hidan spoke of wasn't a lie. It seemed pretty real to him. There was only one way to find out.

Deidara turned to leave the room when he noticed Sasori standing nearby. He was standing perfectly still, staring at him. He looked like he wanted something but wasn't speaking. "What?"

"I want to play a game."

The artist did a double-take then groaned. "Ugh… Sasori, my man… why the sudden interest in games? Are you that bored or devious?"

He stood there without an answer. He didn't know if he was supposed to.

"Well?" Deidara prompted. "Go on. What kind of game did you have in mind?"

Sasori clapped his hands in the same way he had heard Hidan do just moments before.

Deidara blinked. "Wh- wait… Are you..?!" He reached up to cover his ears.

"Sleep."

Deidara sat quietly on the floor, slumped. He looked like he was sleeping soundly. Sasori waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't move. Sasori gave a quick look around to see if anyone was watching. No one was around.

"Deidara?" he asked timidly, unsure if this was really going to work or not. He didn't want Deidara to spring to life and attack him for trying. "You'll do anything I say… right?"

He nodded his head. "I'll do anything… you say…"

Sasori smiled. That's what he wanted to hear. So far so good. Now it was time to have some fun. "Ok, then. When I snap my fingers… you will be a kitty-cat. Ok?"

Deidara nodded.

Sasori smiled happily. That was fun. But maybe one more wouldn't hurt. "And when you wake up, you'll play with me. Ok? You got that?"

He nodded again.

"Good! Now, um…" Sasori thought of the command. "Up and at 'em."

Deidara lifted his head, looking around. He saw Sasori standing in front of him with an eager look on his face. "What are you looking at?" he asked, getting to his feet. He was starting to walk away.

Sasori gave a disappointed pout. "Don't you want to play with me?"

The blond man stopped where he stood. A strange feeling had come over him when Sasori said those words. Suddenly, he wanted to play with him. He wanted to do it. Deidara turned back. "Sure." He sounded like he was testing his voice, speaking slowly and clearly. "We can play."

"Right now? With me?" Sasori beamed.

"Sure. We can do that. Yeah."

"Great!" Sasori grabbed Deidara's hand and pulled him away. "Come on! Let's go play!"

* * *

Sasori was better at hide and seek than she thought. Konan had walked up and down the same maze of halls for the past twenty minutes, unable to find any trace of the little puppet boy. She was starting to get worried. In his hypnotized state there was no telling what he would do. She hoped he hadn't gone outside to find a hiding place among the trees or anything along those lines.

She started calling his name, getting desperate. "Sasori! Where are you? Come out, come out!"

As she predicted, she got no answer.

She was getting really worried now. Even if he was still playing the game, if he was nearby and she called out, she would at least hear his stifled giggles or hear him call from behind a door 'no one's here!'.

Kakuzu came from another hall and was moving in Konan's direction. She quickly stopped him. "Excuse me, Kakuzu, have you seen Sasori anywhere?"

He pointed down the hall. "He's over there. Trust me, you'll hear him before you see him."

"Hear him?"

"Trust me." He started to walk away. "I swear those fumes Deidara makes with those bombs of his must be getting to him and his partner. Weird…"

Now she had to see this for herself. She ran down the hall and into a room. There were the two partners, dancing in the middle of the room. It looked like Deidara and Sasori were doing their own variation of a salsa and some tropical theme. They were surprisingly good and in sync. They even had a song for their little dance and were singing it together, alternating verses.

"Today we sail,

Today we love,

Today we live,

Never shall we die!

Awesome, awesome!

Come get me if you can!

Awesome, awesome!

You can try but don't hold your breath!

No way shall I stay down,

I'll get up again,

No matter what!

Dancing, dancing!"

"What are you two doing?" asked Konan from the door.

Sasori stopped the dance and ran over to her. "You found me! But I forgot to hide. Sorry. I guess the game's over… But that's ok. I found a new one!"

"Oh? What kind of game?" Konan was staring at Deidara who was frozen in place, waiting for Sasori to return and finish the dance with him. This was someone's doing. The question was who?

"This kind!" Sasori pointed to his partner. "It's so cool. Know what? He'll do whatever you say if you clap your hands."

"Really..?" Konan groaned. So this was Sasori's doing this time.

"I wanted to play with him but he didn't want to before. Now he does. Don't you, Deidara?"

"Yes, I do. I want to play with you." Deidara sounded almost robotic. It was as if he were programmed so respond that way. "I want to play."

"Do you really?" Konan asked sounding skeptical. Deidara stood still. Konan bent down and patted Sasori on the shoulder. "You know what? I kind of wanted to play with you, too. Can we do a game together?"

Sasori was so happy. Another game with more playmates. "Ok! We'll all play together!"

"Actually, what I meant was-"

It was too late. Sasori had already grabbed Deidara's hand and was pulling him toward Konan. "Playtime! Playtime! Let's go, Deidara!"

"Sure. I want to play."

Sasori reached out and grabbed Konan's hand and pulled both of them down the hall. Konan took the lead, taking them her own way. They formed a long chain going down the hall and into the bathroom. It was the only room nearby that was somewhat private. She kicked the door shut and locked it. She looked at Sasori who was both excited as well as confused.

"How come we're in the bathroom, Konan?"

"Because… Because I thought we could play a splash game in the tub over there. Like a water park."

Sasori needed no more motivation to start filling up the tub with water.

In the meantime, Konan was trying to figure out a way to snap Deidara out of the state he was in before someone saw him or before Sasori had him do something dangerous. She took him by the shoulders and shook him. "Deidara? Deidara, can you hear me? Wake up. Snap out of it."

He looked like he was half asleep. "I… want to play…"

"Snap out of it, Deidara. Right now."

"I want to play with Sasori… I want to play…"

Konan could see she wasn't going to get through to him this way. But she was hesitant to put him back into a trance. She had no idea what Sasori had done to him. For all she knew, he was still in a trance and Sasori didn't know the trigger to wake him up. "Damn it. I knew I should have kept this whole thing to myself. This is not working out the way I had hoped. Everything's getting muddied up…" She gave Deidara another shake. He still wasn't coming around. "Sasori, honey? Could you please tell me what you did to Deidara to make him want to play with you?"

"I dunno. I just told him that I wanted to play with him."

Great. Not even Sasori knew what he had done to him. Konan tried to wake him up again. "Deidara, up and at 'em." He only stared at her. "Oh, please, snap out of it."

"Splashy!" Sasori cheered behind her. "Splishy-splashy!" He started slapping the rising water with his hands, making waves. He looked around for bath toys he could use. He found brushes and cloths but those weren't very good toys. Although, he could use the cloth as a sea monster. Maybe there was a soap dish he could use as a boat. He started looking in cupboards. Near the front on one of the shelves was a bottle of bubble soap. "Bubble bath!" Sasori opened the bottle and went over to the tub. He poured in a little bit of soap. Bubbly foam was already starting to form under the running water. His wet hands made it hard to hold onto the bottle. As he leaned over the edge of the tub to add a little more the bottle slipped from his hands and fell into the water. "Oops."

There were a lot more bubbles now. A lot more. The foam started rising forming bubbly mountains around the running water. Sasori was very excited about this. There were so many bubbles. He started playing in the water, stirring the water with his hands, spreading the bubbles around and making even more foam.

"Wake up, Deidara! Snap out of it!" Konan shook him again.

"Can we play now? I want to play."

"No you don't. Ugh, how can I make you understand?" Konan felt something wet touch her feet and looked down. "Hm?" There was a large puddle on the floor. She turned around and gasped. "What did you do?!"

The small bathroom was filled to the ceiling with bubbles. The tub was overflowing, flooding the bathroom floor. Bubbles covered everything, including the puppet boy standing innocently in the middle of the bubble mountain. "I wanted to make bubbles."

"You certainly did." Konan stared at the bubbles surrounding them. Foam was everywhere. Even Sasori was completely covered, his red head the only thing Konan could see of him. He didn't mind too much, but he looked worried, staring at Konan nervously.

"Is this gonna make me in trouble?" He sounded like a child fearful of being punished. He had such a sweet voice and cute face that Konan couldn't bear to disappoint him.

"No, no. This isn't too bad. I told you that we were going to have water park fun. Is this fun? Do you like this?"

He nodded happily. "Uh-huh!"

"Then you're not in trouble."

"Yay!" Sasori dove into the bubbles and started to make himself a beard and hat.

This gave Konan an idea. She dragged Deidara over to the tub and forced him to kneel down. "Ok, Deidara. Now get in there." She shoved his head under the running water and adjusted the temperature to cold. The icy water ran down the back of his neck and froze his hair. If that wasn't enough, he had a mouthful of bubble soap. The horrible taste and the freezing water was enough to jostle him awake. Deidara gasped loudly and pulled back, hitting the back of his head on the spigot.

"C- cold! Cold!" Konan released him and he fell back into the tower of bubble which did nothing to break his fall. His freezing hair touched his body and the cold water ran down his back and chest. He started gasping, the cold making it hard for him to breathe. "It's freezing!"

"Bubble fun!"

Deidara turned around and saw Sasori playing with the bubbles, having a great time. "Uh… what are you doing?"

"Playing with the bubbles. Wanna play with me?"

Deidara turned away. "I'm freezing cold and sitting in water with bubbles popping in my ears and I've got this horrible taste in my mouth. No, I don't want to play with you!"

Sasori looked hurt. He watched Deidara wring his hair out with a pout. "But I thought… I thought you wanted to. It's a lot of fun…" He sniffled. "I wanted to play with you. Don't you want to play with me, too?"

"I don…" Deidara trailed off there. The feeling had come back. Suddenly, he did want to play with his partner. "I… I do. I do want to play with you."

"Huh?" Konan was sure she had snapped him out of it. The cold water must have only shaken the feeling from him until Sasori reminded him of the command. That must have been it. He never told Deidara to snap out of it. He had only given him a feeling. An urge to play with him. The moment Sasori told him that he wanted to play, Deidara folded and gave in to the feeling programmed into him. This wasn't so easily gotten rid of.

"Yay! Play, play, play!" Sasori dove back into the bubbles and Deidara followed.

At first, it seemed that Deidara was only following instructions, simply doing as he was told. He was appeasing Sasori, acting almost robotic. But after sitting in the bubbles and pushing the tower from one way to another and molding the bubbles into the desired shapes, Deidara started to smile. He looked like he was enjoying himself. Konan watched him and took note of his progress. He seemed to be having more fun popping the bubbles than anything else. Soon, he was laughing and encouraging Sasori to do other games he found fun. Now the two were rolling around on the floor, laughing together. Deidara even let Sasori ride on his back while he crawled through the bubbly mess.

Someone knocked on the door. "What's going on in there?" came Kisame's voice.

"Uh… nothing!" Konan called back.

"That's great because I really need to use the bathroom! Now would be nice!"

"Uh…" Konan looked at the soapy bathroom and the rising water. "Right now?"

"It's kind of urgent!" Kisame started moaning. "Long story short, never eat anything Zetsu gives you! It's poison!"

"Zetsu?" Konan repeated. "But he doesn't eat normal food. From what I heard he eats people. Why on earth would you want him cooking… or eat anything he cooks for that matter?"

"Duly noted! Ohhh! Hurry up in there! What are you doing anyway?"

"We're having fun!" Sasori chirped.

Kisame paused before answering. "Was that Sasori I heard? What's he doing in there with you?"

"Nothing! We're just finishing up!" Konan shut her eyes in horror, realizing how it must have sounded to the shark-man.

"Like I said, it's urgent! So get a move on!"

"Hold your horses!" yelled Deidara.

"Deidara's in there, too? What the hell's going on in there?"

"Three-way!" Sasori called before anyone could stop him. "Three people, way lots of fun. So it's three-way fun!"

"Three way?" Kisame sounded shocked and sickened. "Oh, God…"

"It's not like that!" Konan called back loudly. "Oh, forget it." She had wanted to clean up, but there was no way and she wanted to get away as soon as possible before Sasori made the situation any worse. "Get ready to run, you two."

"Ok!" Sasori clung to Deidara's back while he got to his feet.

Konan opened the door and the three of them ran out of there as fast as they could. "All yours!" She didn't stop running, even when she heard Kisame's reaction to the bubbly bathroom. She ran around a corner and kept going, Deidara and Sasori right behind her. She finally stopped when she reached the far end of a long hallway to catch her breath.

Sasori was cheering and bouncing on Deidara's back. "Do it again! Do it again!"

Deidara was actually laughing along with Sasori. "That… that was fun! I actually enjoyed that. That was pretty awesome, Sasori, my man!"

Konan stared in disbelief at the two of them. At first Deidara was so robotic when told to play with Sasori. Now he was actually having some real fun and playing himself. When was the last time he ever did that? Being forced to play with Sasori must have triggered something in Deidara and made him relive his childhood when he could play and have fun. Now the two of them were laughing together like good friends. And not one argument about what true art was all about.

Sasori actually did some real good with this command.

* * *

So cute ^-^

Please review!


	34. Playmates

**Chapter 34: Playmates**

For quite some time now, Itachi had been pretty quiet, which had Konan worried. She knew he was plotting something. There were only a few hours left before the hypnosis wore off and everyone returned to normal. The scroll she possessed didn't give her any details on how that would work. It just stated that all the commands would be useless once it wore off. It never explained what would happen to the people who were put under. Would they just pass out and wake up thinking it was all a dream? Would anyone remember any of this? She would find out in a few hours.

Sasori ran past her with his arms spread out like a pair of wings, laughing. It was a shame that he wouldn't stay this innocent and cute when it wore off. Konan was really going to miss this. He was so free and happy. She may never see this again.

"Hurry up, Deidara!" Sasori called. Moments later, his blond partner chased after him, laughing as well. This was another thing Konan was sure she would never see again. Deidara being just as playful as his partner.

"Coming, my man!"

Sasori started doing cartwheels down the hall, having a great time. At least, until his legs kicked something quite large. He knocked a tray of something out of Kakuzu's hands as he came from another passage. Deidara grabbed onto Sasori's ankles, keeping him from doing anymore damage.

"Sorry about that." Deidara held onto his partner's legs, holding him upside-down. Sasori held onto Deidara's knees, trying to look and see who he had bumped into.

Kakuzu was not happy. "Nice! Very nice…"

Deidara looked down at the goop on the floor with disgust. "What is that junk anyway?"

"How the hell should I know? I found it in one of the rooms, whatever it is…"

"Yuck! It sticks..!"

"Why do you think I was getting rid of it?" Kakuzu growled. "I was debating whether I should take it outside or leave it in Hidan's room. I haven't seen him in a while… Wonder what he's up to."

Sasori stuck out his tongue. "That stuff's all smelly and there's glass everywhere."

"Well, whose fault is that?!" Kakuzu snapped. "You knocked it out of my hands! You clean it up."

"But I don't wanna touch it."

"I don't care."

"Don't yell at him," said Deidara. "We're actually getting along pretty well at the moment. Don't ruin it."

"Should've thought of that before you-"

"Easy, easy…" said Konan, breaking up the argument. "We can settle this without the need to fight."

"Tell that to him!" Kakuzu snapped, pointing at the two partners. His gesture was broad so 'him' could have meant either one of them, or both.

"Calm down, Kakuzu," said Konan. "What? Have you been saving all this anger up for a _rainy day_?"

Kakuzu didn't respond. His mind was somewhere else the moment he heard the trigger phrase. Now he would do anything Konan told him to do.

"Now, let's compromise…" Konan moved closer to Kakuzu and pointed to the mess on the floor. "I'll take these two away while you clean up the mess on the floor. Got it?"

He nodded.

"While you're at it… why don't you clean the rest of the floor?"

He nodded again. "As you wish."

"Good." Konan pushed the partners aside. "Let's get out of his way and let him work."

Deidara looked over her shoulder, trying to get a better look. "How'd you do that?" he asked, seeing Kakuzu do exactly as she told him.

"It's a woman's touch. Don't you two have games to play?"

"Oh, yeah!" said Sasori, still hanging upside-down. "Deidara, carry me over there! I've got an idea!"

"You got it, my man."

* * *

Hidan came out of his room, after successfully avoiding Itachi all morning. Now he was getting hungry. Peering both ways before leaving his room, Hidan crept out into the hall. So far so good. Making sure his earplugs were still in place, he hurried to the kitchen, narrowly getting run over by his partner. "Whoa!"

Kakuzu was going up and down the halls with a damp rag and a bucket. He was washing the floors.

"Why are you doing that?" he asked, taking out one of his earplugs.

"I was asked to clean, so I'm cleaning." Kakuzu turned at the end of the hall and came back the way he came. He was deep into his work, wanting to make sure the floor was spotless.

"I have a pretty good idea who's behind this. It's got to be that stupid Uchiha."

"Taking about me?"

"Wah!" Hidan stuffed the earplug back into place and spun around. Itachi was standing right behind him, as stealthy as ever.

"Don't worry, you were kind of boring me so I'm not gonna do anything to you." Itachi smiled, seeing Hidan tease up, his fists raised like a boxer ready for a match. "Besides, this is much more entertaining."

Hidan had no idea what Itachi was saying but assumed it was an insult. "You can't get me. I won't allow it."

"Keep telling yourself that." Itachi raised a hand to pat Hidan on the shoulder but he moved out of the way before he could make contact.

"I've got my eye on you, Itachi! I swear to Jashin, you'd better sleep with one eye open! I mean it!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Itachi kept going until he came to something else he found just as entertaining. Deidara and Sasori were sitting in the middle of the floor, playing a game together. It looked like they were wrestling, climbing over each other and trying to hold each other down. They looked up when they saw Itachi walk in. "Hey."

"Hi!" Sasori waved. Deidara grabbed his hand and held it down.

"I'm winning, I'm winning!"

"No, you're not!" Sasori pulled back, trying to get his hand free.

Itachi came closer and knelt down beside them. "So… what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" asked Deidara, trying to hold Sasori down. "Playing a game."

"You? Playing a game with Sasori?"

"Yeah."

"So… why are you doing that?"

Deidara paused, the playful look on his face melting away. "… Why am I doing this..?" He was confused.

That confusion left when Sasori called out to him. "See? I'm winning! Told you I would!"

Deidara curled up around him, wrestling him. "Oh, no, you don't!" He was playful again.

Itachi grinned. Konan must have been behind this one. "So, Deidara… If you've got a second…"

"No, he doesn't." Konan stepped up behind Itachi and grabbed the back of his jacket, dragging him out the door. She threw him into the wall and held him there with her hand. "You leave those two alone."

"Why do you care? I was just going to have a little fun…"

"Sometimes your fun is kind of mean. Besides, I finally have peace between the two of them. They're getting along and having a good time. I will not have it ruined by you."

Itachi sighed. "Fine, fine… they're off limits…"

Konan released him.

"At least tell me what I'm supposed to do. Hidan's deaf, these two are off limits and Kisame's locked himself in the bathroom. I don't have a lot of options…" He gave Konan a sly grin. "… unless you're willing to tell me the other commands you've implanted…"

"Forget it. There's only a few hours left."

"Which is why it should be done now!" he whined. "Please, please, please?"

"Out of the question."

"Come on!"

"Don't whine, you're not two."

"Neither is Sasori and look what you have him doing." Itachi clasped his hands together, begging. "Please? Just one little command? I promise, I'll make it worth-"

"I said 'no' and I meant it. I'm not going to let you ruin anything else."

"What else? I didn't ruin anything. I just want to have fun while I still can."

"Haven't you had enough fun?"

"Only a few hours left! Konan, please! I have to take advantage of this. I want to see how far I can push it."

"Which is why you're not getting anyone else and that's final."

Itachi groaned. "You're no fun…"

"Amuse yourself with something else."

That could work. Maybe he could have fun in a different way. There was always lunch, which would be in just a few minutes. Smile growing wider every second, Itachi agreed. "Fine. I'll amuse myself in other ways…" He already had some good ideas.

Too bad that involved making it hell for everyone else.

Konan went back into the room where Deidara and Sasori were still at play. "I'm going to start making lunch. Did you want to come along? Maybe try some of the food before I serve it?"

"Sounds great," Deidara said, wrestling Sasori to the ground. "I'm starving. Pin! I win!"

"That's not fair! She was asking a question! Do-over!"

* * *

Now what will Itachi do?

Sorry this one was so short. I'll make up for it in the next one for sure ;)

Please review! ^-^


	35. Launch for Lunch

**Chapter 35: Launch for Lunch**

It was a very quiet lunch. Much quieter than they've had in the past. But that didn't make it peaceful. No, just awkward. Everyone sat that the table with their meals, but few ate. They were all watching the strangest thing they had ever seen take place at the corner of the table. Deidara was eating his meal, or was rather being fed, at the corner of the table, oblivious to the stares he was receiving from the other Akatsuki. Sasori was hand feeding Deidara his meal, making a game out of it. At first, it was like watching a mother feed her baby, Sasori holding out the food and watching as Deidara took it from his hand with his teeth. Then it got much stranger. Sasori would toss the food up into the air while Deidara barked like a seal. He would lay the food on the edge of the table and laugh when Deidara bent down to eat it off the corner or hold his mouth open when Sasori pushed it over the edge. They were playing with their food.

It was truly a sight to behold, but it disturbed many of the other Akatsuki members. Many of them had stopped eating to watch them in disgust. It was easy for Hidan to ignore them, keeping his eyes down and his ears plugged. The others weren't so lucky.

Sasori held out a piece of meat and laughed when Deidara bit down on the other end. He started tugging at it like a dog, making growling noises. Sasori wouldn't let go. So he started chomping his way up the meat to his partner's hand. He only let go when Deidara's teeth reached his fingers, squealing with laughter.

Kakuzu set down his bowl of rice. "Ok. I guess it's up to me. I'll ask it." Clearly he had to be the one to say it. No one else would say what was on their mind, though they were all thinking it. "What the hell is this?"

"What's what?"

"This! That!" Kakuzu pointed at Sasori and Deidara. "This whole mess right here. What the hell's going on here? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Deidara swallowed the meat. "We're just having some fun. That's all. What's the big deal?"

"It's really disturbing."

"We're just playing a game."

"It's sick and wrong and weird and disturbing and twisted and just plain gross."

"Nobody asked you."

"Nobody asked us either and we all feel the same," said Zetsu. "Do that somewhere else."

"You don't have to look if it bothers you that much!" snapped Deidara.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" crooned Zetu's White half. "They're really close. Such good partners."

"I think it's disturbing," answered the Black half. "We're trying to eat. Well, I'm not, but that's a moot point."

"Lighten up…"

Sasori held up another piece of meat and Deidara grabbed it with his teeth. Sasori tried to pull it back out but Deidara had a good grip on it. He made loud growling noises, chewing on the meat.

"See? Like I said… disturbing." Kakuzu stabbed his rice, agitated.

"Then don't look!" Deidara snapped again.

"It's like a train wreck! You can't look away from something that horrifying."

"You don't hear Hidan complaining and I'd think he'd be one of the first, hn." Deidara picked up his chopsticks and hit himself over the head with them, breaking them in two. He turned to the man sitting beside him. "Hey, Hidan. Hidan!"

"He can't hear you," said Itachi. "He has those earplugs in."

"Still? What's wrong with the guy? What's he so afraid of?" Deidara started to remember a few things. "Oh, yeah… He's trying to avoid hearing your voice."

"Why wouldn't he want to hear Itachi's voice?" asked Zetsu. "You know, aside from obvious reasons."

"Oh, it's because Itachi used-"

"Partner."

Kisame kicked Deidara under the table at Itachi's command.

"Ouch!" Deidara grabbed his shin holding it tightly in both hands. "What'd you do that for?"

"I didn't mean to." Kisame looked under the table. "I didn't think I was that close to you."

"Don't do it again!"

"Fine."

"Partner."

Kisame kicked him again.

"Hey!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Yeah, so your foot just jerked out by itself and you had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah! Exactly!"

Itachi smiled to himself. There was just one thing he needed to do to make this lunch perfect. He looked across the table at Sasori, smile growing. "Psst, Sasori."

He looked up with big curious eyes.

"See Hidan right there?" he asked pointing to the man nearby.

Sasori looked. Deidara sat beside him. Hidan sat on the other side of Deidara, eating in silence. Itachi sat at the head of the table, beside Hidan. He looked back at Itachi and nodded.

"Shame he has those earplugs in. He's missing out on all the fun." Itachi gave Sasori a sad look. "I wish I could take them out but he won't let me. If only I were a master a puppetry. Chakra strings would work perfectly to pull them out so he could hear all the fun we're having. He seems so lonely and sad sitting there all by himself, doesn't he?"

Sasori's face lit up with excitement. "I can use chakra strings! I'm good at puppets!"

Itachi's grin curved into a smirk. "Would you be so kind?" He gestured to Hidan, knowing he couldn't hear what they were plotting. "He needs a little fun in his life, doesn't he?"

Nodding happily, Sasori reached out with his right hand. Two thin threads attached themselves to Hidan's earplugs. With one good tug, he pulled them free. As soon as the sound came to his ears, Hidan panicked.

"W-wait! No! I-"

"Going my way?" Itachi said quickly.

Hidan stared straight ahead, shoulders slumping.

Itachi moved closer to Hidan, whispering into his ear. "Listen carefully. Here's what I want you to do…"

With everyone distracted with their own arguments, no one paid any attention to what he was telling Hidan. Deidara was still arguing with Kakuzu, Zetsu and Kisame; Sasori, pleased that he had helped out, was now rubbing up against Konan, wanting attention.

"Then why'd you do it?"

"How the hell should I know? I said I was sorry. Shouldn't that be enough for you?"

"Sometimes saying it isn't enough."

"I wasn't asking you, Zetsu. I'm still pissed about you trying to kill me earlier."

"You didn't have to eat it... But I'm just pointing out that he holds a grudge after you interrupted their love-feast."

"That's not what it was!" Deidara slammed his hand on the table.

"He was feeding you, you were laughing, having a good time, you're very close… Love with food. Love-feast. See? It makes sense."

"I have to agree."

"That's not it and you know it!"

Suddenly, Deidara's plate ended up in his lap as Hidan jumped onto the table in a spontaneous dance. He took no notice of anyone as he started to salsa on the table, kicking plates and bowls every which way.

"Hidan, what the hell are you doing?" demanded his partner.

"Making love to the rhythm in my heart." He kept dancing.

"Stop doing the flamingo and sit down before I kill you!"

"Actually," said Zetsu's White half, "I believe that's the salsa."

Hidan stomped his feet to an unheard tune, dancing wildly on the table.

"Ok, now he's doing the flamingo."

"Hidan, sit down this instant!" Kakuzu ordered.

Itachi coughed deliberately, signaling Hidan to get even more wild.

"Hidan, sit down! Now!"

"Can't hear you. I have pudding in my pants."

Kakuzu didn't know what to say to that. No one knew what to do. Sasori thought it was funny and started clapping his hands, cheering him on. "Go, Hidan!"

"Don't encourage him!" Kakuzu grabbed Hidan's pant leg. "I told you to sit down!"

"Dance with me and I will."

"There's no way in hell that's happening."

"Too bad. I need a partner for this next number."

"I'll do it!" volunteered Sasori.

"You stay out of this! Hidan, sit down!"

Itachi coughed again.

"Get off the table this instant!"

Hidan bent down and kissed his partner's forehead with a loud smacking sound. "Love you, honey."

Kakuzu screamed while Kisame roared with laughter in his ear. "I changed my mind. I love this guy!"

"Kakuzu, control your partner!"

Kisame kicked Deidara again.

"Ouch! Kisame!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"You did so-waah!" Hidan reached down and pulled Deidara onto the table and immediately started dancing with him. "Let me go! Let go, Hidan! I mean it! Stop!"

He forced him into a tango, keeping Deidara's arms in a vice grip. Unless he wanted to get dragged across the table covered with broken glass, he would have to keep up with his movements. He spun Deidara around and dipped him over his knee, puckering his lips. Deidara kneed him in the crotch but he didn't respond to the pain. He only spun him again and let him drop to the floor with a loud thud.

"Hidan's funny!" laughed Sasori.

Konan didn't find this amusing in the slightest. She glared daggers at Itachi at the opposite end of the table. Of course, he ignored her.

No one knew what to do with the out of control Hidan. He was already begging for a new dance partner as he moon-walked across the table.

"Somebody get him under control!"

Itachi coughed again.

Hidan suddenly discarded his jacket, tossing it to the floor where it landed on Deidara who was in the middle of nursing his bruised knee. He gave his Jashin necklace a kiss and started squawking like a chicken, flapping his elbows in the air.

"Ok, what is this guy on?" asked Zetsu.

"I have no idea and frankly, I don't want to know." Kakuzu looked horrified.

Kisame, on the other hand, was having a blast. He was laughing hysterically, watching the Jashin worshiper act like a lunatic. "This is awesome! Now this is mealtime entertainment, am I right, Itachi?"

"Dinner and a show at lunch," he smiled. "What could be better?"

Konan knew he was planning something else. He had just set himself up with those very words. "Don't." She mouthed that word over and over again, gripping her seat, completely tense. This was about to get much worse. "Please, don't."

"Hidan, just sit down!" Kakuzu ordered him again.

"Bakcaw!" he squawked loudly, stamping the table with his feet. "Can't touch this!"

"I don't think I want to… Get down from there already!"

Itachi coughed once more.

Hidan straightened up, leading everyone to think that he was finished. Not even close. He reached down and ripped off his pants.

"Oh, dear God!" Deidara screamed at the top of his lungs.

Konan quickly covered Sasori's eyes while looking away herself. Now Hidan was jumping around in his boxers, singing opera. Itachi fell out of his seat, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. All anyone could see of him were his legs kicking in the air while he rolled around on the floor, clutching his sides.

"Hidan, for the love of God, knock it off!"

"You gotta tell him 'for the love of Jashin'," said Zetsu.

"I'm not playing into any of that dumb crap!"

"So what?" asked the White half. "Even if you'll have no part of it, Hidan doesn't think Jashin is dumb."

Zetsu said it just loud enough for Hidan to hear and immediately snapped back to reality. He looked down at his exposed body and screamed, trying to cover himself. He had no idea what was going on or how he had gotten into this position. All he knew was that he was standing on the table wearing nothing but his boxers and necklace, covered in leftover food. "Wh-what the..?! What happened?! What am I doing?!"

"You might want to put on some pants first," laughed Kisame.

"Where are they?!"

"I think they landed in the sink. Nice ass, by the way."

"Shut up!" He jumped off the table and ran over to the sink, stepping over Deidara who was still cowering under Hidan's jacket.

"This is a freaking madhouse," said Zetsu. "It's only a matter of time before I go out of my mind as well."

"I think you already did," said Kisame. "You talk to yourself all the time."

"You know that's different!"

Kakuzu tried to get the image of his partner dancing half naked on the table out of his mind. "Oh, lord… What the hell's next? I wouldn't be surprised if he started poll dancing next. What the hell got into him all of a sudden?"

"You think someone slipped him something? It did happen out of nowhere right after he ate," suggested Kisame.

Kakuzu snapped his fingers. "Bingo. That's what I was thinking."

Deidara poked his head out from under Hidan's jacket, tilting his head to the side quizzically. "Meow?" He looked down at the jacket wrapped loosely around his legs and started nibbling at the collar. Quickly getting bored with it, he crawled toward the door and left the kitchen without anyone noticing him.

Putting on his pants, Hidan spun around and glared at Itachi who was still rolling around on the floor. "You! You did this! This is all your fault!"

Itachi started to calm down but he let out little giggles every now and then. "What? Me? No way. I didn't make you do anything. They're all witnesses."

"It's that stupid Sharingan of yours! I know it! Knock it off or I'll kill you myself!" He bent down and picked up his fallen jacket. "Lousy, stinking Uchiha…"

"Aw, you flatter me."

Konan stood up, clearing her throat. "Itachi. Can I speak with you? Now?"

He got to his feet, still getting out any leftover giggles. "Sure, sure." Itachi walked out the door to the kitchen, ducking a kunai thrown at his head.

* * *

Think she'll tell him off or is something else about to go down?

Please review ^-^


	36. Just Puppets to Control

**Chapter 36: Just Puppets to Control**

Konan slammed the door shut behind them and walked Itachi around the corner, far away from the others in the kitchen. Itachi never said a word. He gave no indication that he felt he was in trouble or anything. He followed her without a word. Once they were safely out of earshot, Konan turned around to lecture him.

"Enough," she told him. "You're really pushing it. Knock it off already."

"Oh, come on," Itachi whined like a child speaking to an overacting parent. "What's the big deal? Hidan strips all the time! You know how he likes to keep his shirt open."

"This is way different. He didn't know what was going on. For all he knew…" Konan groaned, shaking her head. "How would you feel if you woke up all of a sudden in a new location, the center of attention without knowing how you got there, wearing nothing but your shorts? You'd behave the same way he just did."

"You make it sound like I roofied him or something."

"Pretty close to it." Konan paced the ground, at a loss for what to do with him. Itachi was out of control. "I had to stop you before you made him do a strip tease or something."

"Hey, now, that's where I draw the line. Even I don't want to see that. Hidan can keep that to himself. I have more class than that."

"Oh, thank God," Konan still sounded annoyed. "At least there's some hope for you."

"What's the big deal? I told you that with only a few hours left, I needed to do something," Itachi complained back. "Sure, it's not my best work, but how can I be expected to come up with anything brilliant with you setting limits on everything I do? Plus, I have to account for time constraints and the fact that I'm not the only one who knows the triggers."

"Stop manipulating them!" Konan yelled in his face. "Stop taking advantage of them and twisting their minds to suit your needs and your whims. Knock it off! They're not puppets to be controlled."

Itachi's face grew strangely serious, very similar to his normal expression when he wasn't under hypnosis. He was smug but stern and the most serious she had seen him for quite some time. "But you're doing it."

She stepped back. "Huh?"

"I said that's what you're doing to them. So it's fine for you but not me?"

"What? What I'm doing is not the same. You're manipulating them and making them do whatever you want."

"So are you." Itachi gave a small shrug and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You were the first. You've been doing it all week to every single one of them. If there's something about them you don't like, you change it. Hidan's constant cursing, Kakuzu's obsession with money, getting Zetsu's loyalty… You've also been changing them to please yourself. You brought Sasori back to his childhood…"

"I- I was just trying to get him to enjoy what he could never have growing up. I was only thinking of him."

"That may be so… But you still manipulated him to do so. Didn't you?" Itachi never took a step closer, but Konan felt as if he were closing in on her. "Ironic that it would be Sasori of all people… The puppet master…"

"What are you..?"

"No, I'm just saying that it's so much easier with puppets. Isn't it, Konan? You can get a puppet to do just about anything you want. They have no wills of their own. So easy to manipulate. I'm just saying…"

Konan took a step closer, defending herself. "I don't see them as puppets to be controlled. I was only-"

"I know. You wanted some peace and quiet this week. You saw how we all behaved when we were barely in the door that first day and knew what this week would be like. So you took it upon yourself to 'help out' as it were. You had the power to do so. You saw your chance so you took it. Very simple. I understand." Itachi gave his body a slight turn so that Konan was now looking at his profile. "The point remains that it's easier to have your way when you're around puppets. Even if they are human beings, the point is to have control. Sometimes it's the only way."

"Th- that is not true!" Konan protested. "What I was-"

"Sasori," Itachi said quickly. "Let's go back to him, shall we? I said it was ironic, didn't I?"

Konan was quiet when Itachi spoke.

"He had parents. We all know this. But did he really have a family? Some would argue no. He's never really had a parents' love. You may be trying to make up for it now, but that won't replace it." Itachi looked down. "That's why he has those puppets…" he said grimly. "Puppets are so much easier. You can have what you want, when you want. Now he never has to hear 'I'm busy', or 'not right now', or 'later', or 'some other time' or any of that. He never has to hear 'no' again. All he has to do is decide on something and it's done. If he wants to snuggle up with mom, all he has to do is pull a string. To get a hug from dad, same thing. It's so much easier."

"But it's not the same as real love."

"Maybe not, but that's all he knows. For him, puppets are easier. He can have his way all the time." Itachi looked her in the eye. "Is what you're doing to them any different? You still have every one of us on puppet strings. Even me."

Konan looked down shamefully.

"I may not remember what you did to me, but I know I'm not the same as I was before. I'm a different person somehow. The man you see before you now is fake. Everyone of us is a fake. We're all just puppets to be controlled." Itachi turned away. "At the end of this week, those strings will break. Might as well have your fun while you still can. As I've said, puppets are easier."

She didn't know what to say. Itachi had acted like such a selfish brat all this week, behaving like a totally different person, that she had forgotten how insightful and intelligent he could be. He was right. She was using them as her own personal puppets. She had intended to use this new power to get everyone to be quiet and get along while they were hiding in this safe house. No matter how you looked at it, she was still manipulating them. She was forcing them to do what she wanted, even if it was done to help them. She was still forcing it upon them without their consent. Even if they did agree to it like Itachi had, she was still controlling them.

She felt so guilty. Her good intentions were devious and underhanded. She never thought of them as puppets to be controlled, but that's what she was doing. "I just… wanted to keep you guys from killing each other. Have peace among us… quiet and…" She trailed off, feeling that she had no right to defend herself anymore.

Itachi turned around. Seeing how upset she was, he sighed and came back. "You know…" he said slowly. "Everybody does it… Manipulating people. Even parents use it on their children. Eat your veggies and you can have a cookie. Don't punch your brother and you can go to the park to play. That sort of thing."

"That's a little different. I took away their free will. What a parent does in that situation is bribing them."

"Still and all… I was just pointing it out to you. That doesn't make it wrong."

"Yes, it does. Isn't that what you were saying?"

Itachi shrugged. "Meh." He started to turn, then stopped. "But you never know. Sometimes it's a good thing. Sometimes you can't get someone to do it otherwise. Sometimes by forcing it on someone makes them realize what they needed all along. They just need a little push. There are times when force is appropriate."

Konan looked up and saw him leaving. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think?" He looked over his shoulder and winked. "There's only a couple hours left. I'd like to force a little fun on people while I still can."

_More like before he feels guilty about doing it again_, thought Konan. This time she didn't stop him. Itachi had just given her a lot to think about. Was this new power of hers a blessing or a curse? Either way, she wanted to be rid of it. She was happy that this was her final day with it. It was far too stressful.

* * *

True, Itachi... but you're doing it, too! Doesn't that make you just as bad?

Maybe the point was to get Konan off his back... Either way, smart ^^

Please review!


	37. Recognize

**Chapter 37: Recognize**

Just puppets to be controlled. That wasn't her intention. Not at all. She hated to say it, but Itachi was right. Acting childish and selfish didn't hide the fact that he was still a genius. The insightful Itachi knew exactly what was going on.

Konan sighed heavily on her way back to the kitchen. Thank God this would all be over soon.

"Die!"

"Ahh!" Konan ducked just as the wall shattered in front of her face. A scythe with three blades was embedded right where her head would have been had she not hesitated.

Hidan peered around the corner and saw Konan. "Oh. Uh, sorry." He pulled his weapon free with a mighty jerk. "Thought you were Itachi."

"So you tried to kill me?"

"No, not you. Itachi." Hidan gripped the scythe tightly with both hands. "I'll murder that jerk and eat his bloody heart raw."

"You're seriously going to kill him?"

"Well, not right away. I like to play with them a little…"

"But you intend to kill him?"

Hidan hesitated. "Well… more like maim… or slaughter or decapitate… Something along those lines. I hate to nitpick…"

Konan groaned. Hidan was going off the deep end. Itachi was dead no matter what at this point so she didn't bother to try to stop him. If Hidan wanted to waste his time Uchiha hunting or if Itachi wanted to use hypnosis on Hidan to keep him under control, so be it. She wasn't about to stop them. "Fine, do whatever you like. Just be careful and don't kill anyone unless you know for sure."

"Yeah, yeah…" Hidan licked the handle of his favorite weapon, already fantasizing the death to come. "Not a problem…" He got into position as Konan left, calling out to Itachi is a low croon. "Here, Itachi… I've got a little present for you…"

"God help us all…"

"Konan!" Sasori ran down the hall and leaped into her arms, snuggling her warmly. "Did you yell at Itachi? Is he in trouble?"

She patted his head. "Yes, he's in trouble… I think Hidan may punish him…"

Sasori giggled. "Then he shouldn't have been naughty, huh?" Sasori tried to climb onto her shoulder but was having a tough time doing it from his current position. "Did you want to play another game?"

"Sure thing, but first we have to clean up the kitchen. There's a big mess in there from lunch." Konan carried Sasori back to the kitchen and opened the door.

It was better left closed. It was one of the worst messes they had ever left. Broken dishes were everywhere, the floor covered with jagged pieces of glass and food. One of the chairs was split in half and another lay in pieces. Leftover food splattered on the walls and ceiling. There were puddles around the table and even more broken glass. The table was one of the worst in terms of a slimy mess. Hidan's movements had ground pieces of food into the heavy wooden table. Small shards of glass were also wedged into the table and it was soaking wet. There was a long trail of messy footprints leading from the table to the sink and then to the door, Konan was sure were Hidan's.

"This is going to take a while…" She wasn't looking forward to picking up all this broken glass and food. Beside her, Sasori was getting antsy. This didn't look like much fun to him. He wanted to play. Picking this mess up wasn't going to be fun at all. Knowing that neither one of them would have much pleasure in doing this work, Konan called out for someone who might. "Zetsu!"

A green body seeped up from the ground beside her and opened up. "Yes, Konan?" asked the ever loyal Zetsu.

"Would you mind cleaning all this up for me?" she asked sweetly. "Sasori needs some attention and there's a lot of glass around…"

He nodded his head happily. It had been a while since she had last commanded him. "Of course! It's a pleasure. I'll get started on it right away." Eager to please, he started to clean up the mess, using his own sleeves as a broom.

It was best to leave him be. Konan left with Sasori without saying anything else. She tried to ignore the fact that she had just manipulated him, just as Itachi had said. It was a fact impossible to ignore. She knew what she was doing. Then why did she keep doing it? What Itachi had also told her rang in her mind as well. Sometimes doing such things showed people what they would have refused to see otherwise. Perhaps this was a good thing. Either way, she got out of work and now Sasori could play with her without distractions.

"So play now?" he asked, hopeful.

"Yes. Play now," she answered.

"Yay!" Sasori started running, then turned, called her, wanting to be chased.

* * *

Hidan stood at the end of the hall for ten long minutes, waiting for Itachi to come around the corner. He knew Itachi was crafty, but was confident that there was no way he could sneak past him unnoticed.

Unless, or course, he walked across the ceiling instead. Itachi looked down with a smirk. This was almost too easy. "Going my way?" he called down to Hidan who suddenly dropped his scythe. Itachi jumped down, landed beside him, still smirking. "In the last hour or so I have you… I'd like you to do something for me…"

"Yes, master."

"Ah, I'm going to miss that so much. I love being called master." Itachi suppressed his giggles and put his arm around Hidan's shoulders. "Here's what I want you to do…" He snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Hidan slumped against Itachi's chest, out like a light. It was much easier getting him into this state when he was already under control.

"Whenever you see Kisame, you will recognize him as Itachi Uchiha. Do you understand?"

Hidan nodded.

"Good." He snapped his fingers again. "Awake."

Hidan's eyes opened but Itachi was no longer there. He picked up his scythe and decided to search for him instead. After all, it was unlikely that Itachi would actually come to him willingly.

* * *

Down the hall, Itachi ran across someone else he could have some fun with. "Hey, Kisame. What's up?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing…" He smiled. "Say, have you seen Kakuzu anywhere recently? I haven't seen him since lunch."

"I have no idea. He could be in his room or something. Why?"

"Just curious. Would you mind looking for me? I have something I need to do."

"Ok… Uh, what should I tell him?"

"No message. Just let me know where he is. That's all." Itachi walked away, waving over his shoulder to his partner.

Kisame frowned at the odd request, but then again, many things were odd this week. Besides, Itachi rarely gave him the full story on anything he was doing. Everything was so secretive, so this didn't surprise him too much.

Further down the hall, Kisame caught a glimpse of Kakuzu coming out of another room. "Hey, Kakuzu," he called.

He turned. "What is it?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering where you were."

"None of your business."

"Then where are you heading?"

"That is also none of your business."

Kisame groaned. "I'm never going to get anything out of you, am I?"

"Got that right."

Someone else was heading there way carrying a scythe.

Kakuzu looked up towards the hall. "Where have you been, Hidan?"  
"None of your business," he grumbled.

"Ah. I see where he gets it from…" Kisame joked.

"For a building built into a hill, this place is freaking huge," Hidan was saying. "It's a maze, all these halls. How am I supposed to find one measly little..?" Hidan stopped when he saw Kisame who suddenly didn't look like Kisame anymore. Standing next to Kakuzu was a man with black hair in a ponytail, Akatsuki robe, necklace and piercing red eyes. An Uchiha's eyes. Growling, Hidan picked up his scythe and charged at his enemy. "Die!"

"Whoa!" Kisame ducked as Hidan swung at his head. "What are you doing?!"

That wasn't Kisame's voice he heard but Itachi's. Itachi Uchiha was standing in front of him, not Kisame. The command given to him worked to perfection. Hidan now thought Kisame was Itachi. "I'll kill you!"

Kisame screamed and started running.

"Get back here!" Hidan chased after him, swinging his weapon of choice at Kisame's head.

Kakuzu stood by and watched. Then, with a shrug, turned and walked away. This irrational behavior was perfectly normal and expected from his partner. Everything was normal here.

* * *

In the living room area, Konan and Sasori were busy at play. She was showing him a game she knew as a child called 'slaps'. Teaching it to Sasori was very easy. They lay their palms flat down in front of each other's and had to pull away before the other person could slap their hand. Konan was gentle when she did it to Sasori but he was a little more rough. Maybe it had to do with him being a boy. That's what she believed. Boys were always more rough.

They played this for a while until Sasori got bored and wanted to do something else. Just as they were about to play a new game, they heard screaming. Konan jumped up, pulling Sasori behind her back protectively.

Kisame appeared at the end of the hall and started running towards them, dodging swings from a scythe in Hidan's hands. He was chasing him. Kisame was so afraid, he was in tears. He ran into the living room and hid behind Konan. "It's sharp! He's gonna kill me with it!"

"Get out from behind her, you coward!" Hidan swung again. "Come out and fight like a man!"

"What is going on here?!" Konan began, trying to keep Hidan from killing Kisame. "I thought you were trying to kill Itachi?"

"I am!" Hidan tried to get around Konan. "If he'd hold still, that is!"

Konan looked at Kisame and then at Hidan. "Oh… Itachi…" she groaned.

"Hiding behind a woman is low, even for you!"

"And just what is that supposed to mean?!" Konan snapped at Hidan.

"It's not how it sounds."

"Then you tell me how it's supposed to sound."

Sasori squeezed out from between Konan and Kisame and stepped away. These guys were arguing about something. He wanted to play a game but these guys were getting in the way of that. What should he do? Maybe if he yelled, he would get some attention.

Then he heard something soft and quiet. He turned around. He heard the noise again from a different room. He wandered off in search of it. He peered around corners and under chairs and tables. Then he heard the sound again, a little closer and louder this time.

"Meow!"

* * *

Please review! =^-^=


	38. Everything But

**Chapter 38: Everything But**

Sasori went into the next room and spotted a man with blond hair crawling around on all fours. Recognizing him as his partner, Sasori stepped forward. "Deidara?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

Deidara looked up for a moment, then back down at the floor. He didn't seem very interested in what his partner had to say.

Sasori squatted down and watched Deidara for a while. He crawled to the middle of the floor and flattened himself to the ground, making small purring noises. Tilting his head to one side, Sasori thought he knew what was going on. "Are you being a kitty-cat?"

Deidara looked up. "Meow?"

When Sasori overheard Hidan telling Deidara about the secret commands, he had decided to test it out on Deidara to see if they were real. He remembered asking him to be his playmate, but had forgotten all about the second command he had given to him. He had told Deidara to become a cat when he heard someone snap their fingers. Since Sasori hadn't done it, he figured that Deidara had heard someone else snap their fingers and turned into what was rolling about before him now.

Sasori couldn't care less who the culprit was. All he cared about was having a new game to play. Since Deidara was a cat, it only made sense to play cat games with him. Sasori extended a chakra thread from his fingertip and danggled it in front of his partner. "Here, kitty-kitty! Come play!"

Spotting the shiny thread, Deidara came over and started batting at it with his hand. He made small mewing sounds, attacking the thread playfully. He rolled onto his back and started batting at it with both hands which he had balled into fists, meowing happily. Sasori laughed, having a great time. This was a lot of fun for the both of them.

"Good kitty, good kitty." Sasori scratched under Deidara's chin and listened to him purr. He loved having his chin scratched. Sasori pet Deidara for a while enjoying the blond's reactions. He purred loudy and rolled from side to side, giving Sasori easier access. He liked being scratched along his spine and behind the ear and along his neck and under his chin. He was getting a good massage from the little puppet boy.

"Get back here!"

"I told you, no!"

Startled, Deidara jumped up, looking into the next room. Kisame and Hidan were on the move again. Konan couldn't hold them back any longer.

"I said I didn't do anything!" Kisame screamed, running from the large scythe.

Hidan tried to cut him off by throwing the weapon at him from behind only to miss and have it sink into the floor behind Sasori. Frightened, Deidara gave a loud hiss and ran down the nearest hall he could find. Sasori pouted. He didn't want the game to be over yet. Deidara was a cute kitty.

"I'll kill you, Itachi!"

"Tell that to him! I'm not Ita- ahh!" Kisame ducked as Hidan hurled kunai at his head. "Stop it!"

"Only when you're dead!" Hidan pulled his weapon out of the floor and chased Kisame into one of the rooms. There was crashing and banging and then both of them came running out, followed closely by another member of the Akatsuki.

"Can't I have any peace in this place at all?!" yelled Kakuzu.

"Sorry! I thought you were over there still!" Hidan called, still running after Kisame.

"I thought I was safe in here!" Kakuzu roared and started to chase after both of them. He lost interest quickly and decided to find another room to hide in, hoping he wouldn't be bothered again.

Konan came out of the other room looking very annoyed. She saw Sasori sitting on the floor by himself, a giant hole in the floor where the scythe had landed. "Did you get hurt at all?"

He shook his head. "Nope. What is he so mad about?"

"Oh, who knows?" she lied. "Let's try to stay out of their way for a while and play a game together, hm?"

"Sounds great!" Sasori jumped up, clinging to her happily. They walked off together, ignoring the yells coming from down the next hall.

"I'll kill you!"

"I told you, I'm not him!"

* * *

Again, Itachi was trying to make the most of the little time he had left. He had a few ideas but no time to carry them out. It was such a shame. As he thought, more ideas came to mind but again, there was not enough time to do anything with them.

"Itachi! Help!" Kisame grabbed him and used his body as a shield. "Hidan's gone crazy! He thinks I'm you!"

"Really?" Itachi said innocently. "You don't say? Huh. Imagine that…"

Kisame may not have been the most clever member of the Akatsuki, but he wasn't an idiot. "What did you do?!"

"Me? Why, whatever are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You had something to do with this, I know it!"

"Ok… I may have made him think you're me. Big deal."

"It is a big deal! He's trying to kill me!"

Itachi shrugged.

"Don't you care?!"

"Yes…" he said hesitantly.

"You don't, do you? I knew it!"

"Don't get all dramatic on me. Of course I care about you; it's just that in this situation it's… better you than me."

"You're heartless!"

"Oh, come on! He's not really going to kill you. Besides, I've seen you fight. You can take him. At the very least, you can ball up and start crying. That'll stop him."

Kisame didn't answer that statement. He seemed too beside himself to retort. "Stupid Genjutsu… Images wrapped up in an illusion…"

"Hm?"

"I know how Genjutsu works and I know how your Sharingn works, too, for the most part! You created an image and placed it on me so whenever he looks at me, all he sees is you! Messing with the senses… You're a cruel man, Itachi."

Kisame was smart in that he had figured it all out by himself, however, it was the wrong conclusion. It was hypnosis, not Genjutsu. Still, it was a good explanation. Itachi was rather impressed.

"I'll kill you! Where'd you go?!" Hidan appeared in front of them, holding his scythe in both hands.

Kisame slid behind Itachi, cowering. Itachi saw this and realized why Kisame was running away and hiding from Hidan rather than fight back. He couldn't. Hidan was holding a scythe which was, in fact, a kind of knife in a way. No one had reversed Kisame's fear of sharp objects. No wonder he was behaving this way. He couldn't help it.

Hidan looked straight ahead and saw two people standing in front of him, both of them Itachi. "Don't think a simple Shadow Clone will be enough to trip me up!"

Itachi smiled. "I don't intend it. But it did slow you down a bit, now didn't it?" He spread out his arms in a lazy gesture. "After all, which one is the real one?"

Hidan looked from one to the other. Then, gripping his scythe tightly, attacked Kisame. "Simple enough… this one!"

Kisame screamed and backed into the wall. "But I'm not Itachi! He is! That's the real one!"

Hidan's blade pierced the floor right where Kisame had been standing. "Nice try!"

"I'm serious! Why do you think I'm the real one?!"

"Because you're afraid of me hacking into you. Therefore, you've got to be real. Besides, he didn't even flinch." Hidan pointed to the real Itachi who never made any sort of movement during Hidan's attack. Again, it was a good conclusion but the wrong one. Hidan truly believed Kisame was the real Itachi and focused his rage on him alone. He pulled his weapon out of the floor and raised it. "Now die!"

"Ahhh!" Kisame took off again down a long hallway. "Leave me alone!"

Itachi smiled. This was pretty entertaining. With less than an hour left, maybe this was good enough. He decided to sit back and watch the show.

* * *

Konan knew something was going to happen if things went on the way they were. She realized that simply letting things run their course wasn't an option anymore. If things kept up the way they were, someone was going to end up killed. Running out the clock wasn't going to work anymore. Hidan had grown more violent. She couldn't wait an hour for everything to go back to normal. Who knew what he would do during that time?

"Itachi!" Hidan bellowed and came running down the hall, swinging his weapon wildly. "Get out here and fight like a man! You coward!" He just missed her head by mere inches.

"Hidan! Watch where you're swinging that!"

"Then get out of my way, woman!"

She grabbed his arm. "Enough's enough! This has to stop!"

"I'll stop when he's dead! I will not be manipulated anymore for some cheap laugh!"

There was nothing else she could do. Holding him back with one arm, she raised the other and snapped her fingers. "Sleep." Hidan dropped his scythe and fell back into her chest. "Now listen to me, Hidan. When you wake up from your trance, you will no longer be angry with Itachi. Do you understand?"

He nodded twice.

Just to be on the safe side, in case Itachi got anymore ideas, she thought it best to make it so no one could get him in another trance. She could only think of one way to do that. "And when you wake up from this trance, you will feel very, very sleepy. All your strength will be gone and you'll only want to sleep. You will fall into a deep, peaceful sleep. Understand?"

He nodded again.

"Good." She snapped her fingers again. "Awake."

Hidan opened his eyes and started to stand. He wobbled, leaning against the wall with his shoulder. "What happened?" he asked weakly. "I feel really tired all of a sudden. It just hit me."

"Maybe you should go to bed and take a nap for a while."

Hidan nodded up and down. "Yeah, yeah, sure…" He started walking, but his movements were sloppy. He wobbled and swayed, unable to walk a straight line. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"Are you ok?" she asked. She didn't know the command would work that fast.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine… Don't worry about me. I'm ok…" He took two steps then stopped, his body swaying from side to side. "Konan?"

"Yes?"

"Catch me." Hidan fell over backwards into her. Or rather onto her. Konan was knocked off her feet and found herself trapped underneath Hidan. She pushed him to one side, getting up.

"Hidan?" she asked but he didn't answer. He was already snoring. "That worked fast..! Maybe it was the way I worded it? I guess I should have said 'you'll walk to your room and take a nap' or something like that. Too late now."

Konan physically dragged Hidan down the length of the hall and into his bedroom. She hoisted him onto his bed with all the strength that she had. Hidan was pretty heavy. She rolled him to the center of the mattress and covered him with a blanket. He grabbed it with his hand, pulling it close to his face and snuggling up. Out of curiosity for what he would do, Konan reached down and patted his head. He didn't do anything until her fingers touched his ear lightly. He smiled. She smiled, too.

"I guess even this little S.O.B. can be cute at times." Konan left the room, closing the door and making sure no one was around to bother him. While he was asleep, no one should be able to command him. And this way, he stayed quiet. She walked away with a long sigh. Peace at last.

"So…" Itachi appeared behind her suddenly. She didn't jump. She had a feeling he would be showing up in such a way. How typical of him. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Just tucking him in."

"Aww..!" Itachi mocked. "How sweet. Did you give him a kiss, too?"

She rolled her eyes. "We have less than an hour to go. Let the minutes pass with peace."

He snorted. "Not that I could do anything anyway. You've hidden everyone on me and anyone else I don't have the commands for." He looked behind Konan then down the length of the hall and behind himself. "Wasn't Sasori with you?"

"Yes, but I distracted him so that I could sneak away."

"Ah. He as getting on your nerves was he?"

"No, you were."

Itachi shrugged indifferently. "So what'd you do?"

"I gave him a piece of paper that had 'please turn over' written on both sides."

Itachi burst out laughing. "Haha! Classic! You know, I tried the same thing with Sasuke once. He figured it out after turning it over three times. He was pretty sharp for a four year old."

"Well, I figured this will keep him busy for a while."

"Where are the others?"

Konan counted them off on her fingers. "Zetsu's still cleaning the kitchen, Sasori's doing that in one of the rooms, Kakuzu is hiding in his room doing who knows what…"

"Kisame's barricaded himself in the bathroom," Itachi informed her.

"And Hidan is asleep in his room. That's everybody."

Itachi pouted. "So now we just wait out the hour? That sucks… How boring."

"It's not as bad as you…" Konan stopped. "Wait. Aren't we forgetting something?"

"The other commands to the ones I don't know?"

"No, I mean seriously," Konan slapped his shoulder. She tried to think. "I feel like we're missing someone."

"You sure?"

Konan counted off on her fingers again. "Kisame's in the bathroom, Hidan's sleeping in his room, Kakuzu's in his, Zetsu's in the kitchen, Sasori's down the hall… I'm here and you're standing next to me…" She looked at her hand. "We're missing someone."

"Who?" Itachi counted off on his hands as well. "Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Sasori, you and me…" Itachi tried to think then realized something. "Have you heard any explosions today or pretentious babble about art?"

Their eyes widened realizing that they were short one member whom neither had seen all afternoon.

"Deidara!"

* * *

How could you guys forget everyone's favorite artist?! Shame!

Please review! There will be two more chapters so enjoy it while you can ^-^


	39. Thank You

**Chapter 39: Thank You **

Konan searched up and down the halls for any sign of Deidara but she couldn't find him anywhere. She called his name but he never responded. Where could he have been? While she searched, Itachi proved to be less than concerned, goofing around instead of helping her look. At the moment, he was tapping his foot rhythmically on the wooden floorboards.

"At least make an effort to help me look!" Konan scolded.

"Why? I'm sure he'll turn up. Why bother looking?"

"Who knows what state he's in? I don't want him getting hurt or killed or something."

Itachi continued tapping while he followed her. Getting into his made-up beat, he started bobbing his head in time. His hips were the next to follow. Soon he was dancing down the hall, humming a tune to himself.

"Itachi, would you kindly stop that? What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just in a good mood. What? I can't have a little fun?" He continued dancing, stepping in rhythm. "Like you never make up songs and sing them when you're alone or in a good mood? Besides, I've got a pretty good beat going."

"You just want to distract me."

"That, too." Itachi continued, as if he were on stage. Konan could hear his feet sliding across the floor and stepping in tune to his humming. She tried her best to ignore him, but it was getting harder to do so.

"Deidara? Where are you? Come out, please!"

"No matter where you are,

I will always find you,

Find your place,

Find your place,

Do not move,

I'll come for you now,

Pride comes before our shame,

Not today my friends,

Call and I will come for you,

Show me your foe,

I'm the prince,

I'm the prince,

I'm the prince of the world!"

"Would you stop that?!" Konan finally turned around.

Itachi howled in her face and burst out laughing when he saw the look on her face.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you were drunk."

"I told you, I just want to have a little fun. You've been hanging around a kid all day, you know how it is."

"But you're not a child!"

He shrugged while attempting to tap-dance. He wasn't very good, but he didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy himself. "Why can't I goof around every now and again? What's the big deal?"

"Don't you know what you look like? I figured you of all people would feel embarrassed."

Itachi stopped dancing but he was still walking to an unheard beat. "You know, normally I would, but when it's just around you, it's fine. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I mean, I'd do it if I weren't the only one. You know, if the other guys were doing it ,too. It's called having fun."

Itachi sure had changed. This playful side would be missed. Now Konan knew how he played when he couldn't manipulate anyone. It was typical of an older brother, she thought.

"Of course, I'd never do it in front of my father. He would disapprove immediately. But once in a while, when I'm alone, I do it if the mood strikes me. I think I have a decent voice."

"You do."

"Oooh..!" Itachi crooned. "You coming onto me?"

"What?!"

"Haha! Just messing with you. You should see your face."

Konan rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hang on, I want to see if I can do this." Itachi stopped where he stood and jumped into the air, clicking his heels together. "Hey, check that skill out! It's not as hard as I thought it was."

"Can we focus on the task at hand here?"

"Alright, alright…" Itachi took in a mouthful of air, puffing out his cheeks. He followed her without another word or sound. However, every now and then, he would tap his foot on the ground just to annoy her.

Their efforts, or lack thereof on Itachi's part, were all in vain. They couldn't find Deidara anywhere. Itachi started humming again, shaking his head to the beat and tapping his foot on the ground again. Konan went into the kitchen to ask if Zetsu had seen him. She came back out after he informed her that he hadn't. Where else could he be?

"I have no idea where he went to," she sighed. "We've been up and down every single hallway in this building. I'm about ready to give up."

"You may want to look over there before you do." Itachi pointed to the front door, which happened to be wide open. "If he's not in the building then that could only mean that he's not in the building… isn't that right?"

"Why in the world would he go outside? We're supposed to stay in the building to avoid detection. Those were our orders and whole reason of being here." She turned to Itachi.

Itachi stared back. When her gaze did not waver, he responded. "Hey, I didn't tell him to up and leave. This blame is not on me…" Itachi's eyes twinkled. "Although… I am a bit curious to find out where he went and why."

"Then you'll help me look and be of actual help?" Konan asked, folding her arms impatiently.

Itachi bowed deeply at the waist, hand over his heart. "Yes, my dear mistress. Your wish is my command."

"Then quit fooling around and come on." Konan hurried out the door. Itachi followed her up to the threshold. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"You said we weren't supposed to leave… so…" He looked down at the ground inches away raising his brows and pursed his lips.

Rolling her eyes again and groaning loudly, she waved him on. "Just come on! Help me find him."

"You're the boss." Itachi jumped beyond the front door, stepping out into fresh air for the first time in nearly a week. He inhaled deeply, loving the scent of the trees. "Ah..! Much better than the smell of dirt, wouldn't you agree?"

"Come on!" Konan was worried. Deidara knew better than to leave. Something must have been wrong with him. His course of action wasn't normal.

Konan and Itachi went deep into the woods to search for the blond artist.

They searched high and low for him, calling his name. No matter where they looked or for how long, he just wasn't there.

"This is bad…" Konan kept muttering to herself. "This is all my fault. I should have never done this. This is bad. This is very bad."

"What's the big deal? You're acting like he's a little kid who went off to play in the street."

"He knows better than to leave the building. He also left the front door open. That alone tells me that there's something wrong with him. He's not in his right mind."

"I don't think he ever was," Itachi said, looking up at the trees.

"You saw how Hidan behaved when we left him in a trance for too long. He had no idea what was happening. He was loopy!"

"It was funny though."

"Still, who knows what Deidara will do if he's in such a state? We have to find him. What if he wakes up and finds himself completely lost? He'll want to know how it happened and why."

"We'll just tell him he was sleepwalking. He's dumb enough to believe that."

"What if he gets himself hurt?"

"A bonus."

Growling, Konan started looking in trees and behind bushes. Itachi was of no help to her whatsoever. He was too busy playing around.

"You're upset," he told her.

"No kidding!"

Itachi sighed. "Is it because of what I said before? The whole manipulation thing?"

"That has nothing to with it now help me look."

"The fact that you denied it so quickly and then changed the subject to distract me and avoid talking about it any further means that it is the reason. Part of it at least."

He was so insightful it was almost eerie. Konan felt like her heart was an open book.

"You try to hide it, but you're insecure. Aren't you?"

"What would make you say something like that?" she turned around.

"The fact that during this week you've been asking other's insight. But you don't want them to know you more intimately for one reason or another. Maybe it's because you don't want to appear weak, or because you don't want to get close to people out of fear of losing them. That's why you only ask them when they're out of it. You know they won't remember and that they'll be honest with you. That's when you ask."

It wasn't just eerie. It was downright freaky how much he knew about her just through simple observation.

"You're too caring to be a ninja. That's your fear. Maybe you were told that in the past or maybe that's what's nagging you in the back of your mind. You don't want to seem weak. Maybe it's because you're a girl and want to show that you're just as tough as the guys and don't need anyone's pity or protection. Maybe you care too much about what people think." Itachi paused. "Or it's because of you. It's more personal, isn't it? You made a mistake in the past, you were easily taken advantage of… or just overpowered and used by you enemy. You were taken hostage or something and someone got hurt because of it. Someone dear to you. After that you noticed a change. Something happened and after that you promised yourself to get stronger so it would never happen again."

Konan flinched. He was right. He didn't know her story, but he had it right. Her teammates were told that the only way she would be allowed to live would be if one of them killed the other. She was alive today because she was captured and why one of them was dead.

"You're a wallflower because you're afraid to make another mistake." Itachi pulled a leaf down from one of the low branches and played with it in his hand. "I may not know much about you, but I know that you're very loyal." He looked up at her over the leaf. "You're in a relationship, aren't you?"

"W- what?!"

"Don't deny it. I know it's true. There's someone you want to protect. You want to see them happy and you'll do anything in your power to make sure they achieve their desires. Isn't that right?"

Konan didn't answer.

"It's either out of love or guilt. Or both." Itachi dropped the leaf on the ground. "You don't have to tell me. I don't really care."

"No, you just want to mess with me. You think it's funny."

He shrugged. "Not exactly. Some things are funny… some things are harder to explain. This is one of those things."

"Ok, then let me ask you this." Konan folded her arms. "How do you know I'm in a relationship?"

"Aside from your behavior?" Itachi sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's because all this week, with this power, you've never once tried to make one of us your lover. Not once did you try it. The most you've done is make Zetsu loyal to you so you can get out of cleaning."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I simply don't like any of you and that's why I didn't try anything like that?"

"I know that's a lie."

"How do you know?"

Itachi pointed at himself with a smile. "Because I'm one of the guys here and no girl can resist me. I'm the best looking out of everyone here. There's no way you wouldn't try anything with me."

Konan rolled her eyes.

"The only reason I know you haven't done anything is because I'm not having black-outs like the others. Which must mean that I'm not under your control." Itachi put his hand back into his pocket. "All women want to have guys fawning over them. They want love-slaves and with that kind of power, it would have been easy for you to do. Only you didn't. Which means you're already in love. It's hard to make such a move without feeling like you're cheating on them or something. I wouldn't know for sure. But I do know that you didn't do anything like that to any of us. Therefore, you must like someone already. Your heart belongs to them."

Konan looked down. Itachi really could read her heart. She felt ashamed.

Itachi grabbed a low branch and started doing some pull-ups. "Don't worry. I'm pretty insightful. It's not just you. I know a bit about everybody. I know how people will most likely react. That's half the fun." He dropped to the ground but didn't let go of the branch. Now he was swinging from it.

"Itachi…" Konan began. "You're being pretty open. Is it because you feel comfortable around me?"

Itachi chuckled. "You're a smart girl and you're already pretty insightful." He stopped swinging. "I think I can tell you things because I do feel comfortable around you. Like I know you won't tell the others about it or make fun of me. It's weird." Itachi let go of the branch and started walking closer to her. "It's a strange feeling, aside from that other stuff I said. I can't really explain it, but I feel free. Like I can say anything I want."

Maybe because he wouldn't feel guilty about having done so afterwards.

Konan tried to put the whole conversation out of her mind. "Let's just find Deidara." She turned around and started walking again. Itachi followed after her. As insightful as he may have been, he didn't seem to notice how distracted she was. Or perhaps he simply didn't care.

As they walked, they came across a strange sound. It sounded like a cat. Konan looked over a bush and found Deidara on all fours, scratching at a tree trunk with his nails.

"What is he doing?"

Deidara bent his knees and jumped straight up into the tree. He crawled to the edge of the branch and started licking his sleeve.

"He thinks he's a cat!" Konan turned around and saw Itachi giggling, very amused. "Did you do this?"

"No… but I kinda wish I had." He burst out laughing. "He's a freaking cat! Ha!"

"Since you think it's so funny, you get him down!" Konan pointed into the tree.

Itachi saluted her. "Yes, ma'am." He walked to the bottom of the tree, looking straight up. "Shouldn't be too hard." He whistled. Deidara looked down. Itachi spread out his arms. "Come on, Deidara. Get down from there."

Deidara only stared.

"Here, kitty-kitty-kitty," Itachi called. "Come to Itachi. Be a good kitty and get your furry ass down here."

Deidara turned up his nose and faced the other direction.

Itachi frowned. "Stubborn little bastard…" He looked at the trunk of the tree, examining his options. He could always climb up there and get him, but climbing the tree seemed like a lot of work. Using the climbing technique would be simpler, but then there was the issue of grabbing Deidara and bringing him down. He had a feeling Deidara wouldn't come easily. "Maybe we should just chop the branch off."

Konan slapped the back of his head. "Just go up there and pick him up."

"I'm not climbing up there just to have him cling to the branch or move to another. I'm not falling on my ass. You go get him if you don't like my idea."

"Think of something else. That won't hurt him or the tree."

Itachi sighed. "Well, he thinks he's a cat… Got any string? Or tuna?"

"Yeah, I go around carrying tuna fish in my pockets."

"Worth a shot." Itachi tried to think of something else. "We could always make barking sounds and scare him down."

"No, he'll stay put where he is if he thinks there's a dog around."

"Oh, right." Itachi scratched his head. In the meantime, Deidara was climbing further up the tree.

"Just go up there and get him."

"I'm not climbing a tree and I'd rather not try picking him up." Itachi looked at Konan. "Why don't you just knock him out? You know, say the command and have him go back into a trance?"

"First of all, I don't know who did this to him. I don't want to mess with the commands and get his brain broken or something. Besides, if I do, he'll only fall out of the tree and break his neck."

"And the down side is..?"

"I'm serious. Unless you want to catch him."

Itachi groaned. "How about this?" He picked up a rock and threw it at Deidara, nailing in in the back. The angry cat turned around. "See?"

"Is that really a smart idea?"

"Maybe not, but I've always wanted to do that." Itachi threw another at him. It bounced of Deidara's shoulder and he hissed.

"You're making him mad."

"Your point being..?" Itachi threw another one. This rock got him out of the tree alright. Deidara leapt from the branch and dove straight down at Itachi as he bent down to pick up another rock. He pinned Itachi down, sat on his chest and started clawing at his face with his newly sharpened nails. Itachi screamed, trying to pushed Deidara away. "Ahh! Get him off! Get him off!"

Konan started laughing. "Good plan, Itachi. You got him out of the tree. Nicely done."

"Don't just stand there! Help me!"

Konan took out a kunai and held it up to the light. It cast a small triangle shaped light on the ground. Spotting this, Deidara stopped scratching, watching it move from side to side. His head turned from side to side following the beam. Then he got off Itachi and started chasing the light. He tried to catch it in his hand but it was still there. Konan moved the knife from side to side, making the light zip from one place to the next. Meowing curiously, Deidara went after it. He slammed his hand on the ground, trying to catch it again. Now the light was over there. He pounced on it but now the light was over there. He chased the light happily playing with it.

"This is fun," Konan giggled.

Itachi got up with a bloody face. "Can I use that to return the favor?" he asked, pointing at the knife.

Konan put the knife away. Deidara sat on the ground, confused. He couldn't find his elusive prey anywhere. The woman bent down beside him showing him her hand. He sniffed it curiously. Then she reached up slowly and started petting his head. He purred. She started scratching behind his ear and he sprawled out on the ground happily enjoying it. "Good kitty, good kitty," she praised him. He rolled onto his back wanting her to scratch his belly. She did so. He curled his hands around her arms and started to playfully nibble on her sleeve.

Itachi watched all of this take place from far away. Konan had a way with animals… and apparently people who thought they were animals.

After getting him relaxed and comfortable, she lifted Deidara onto her back and started carrying him. He nuzzled her shoulders and curled up, trying to take a nap. "Let's get back before he comes to his senses and starts asking questions."

In the distance, they could see their hideout. Deidara wasn't asleep but he had his eyes closed contentedly. He was very comfortable where he was. Itachi walked ahead of them. Their travel back was spent in silence. Then as the hideout grew closer and closer, Itachi stopped. Konan stopped as well. He wasn't doing anything. Just as she was about to ask him why he had stopped, he said something.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

Itachi didn't turn around. "I know you did something to change me. Even though I don't remember what you did to me, I know I wouldn't have asked you to if I didn't want it. And I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't trust you to do so." He sighed. "Even if I can't remember the reason or the request…"

Konan stared at his back wondering what she should say.

He turned around and grinned at her. "I just wanted to thank you while I still can. After all, I don't know what will happen when this wears off in the next few minutes… but in case the other me doesn't say it, I wanted to. I had fun this week. Thanks for giving me that chance."

She was at a loss for words again. Finally, she said it. "You're welcome."

He grinned again, looking at peace with his life and everything in it. He looked happy.

In that moment, Konan understood what he meant before about how forcing something on other people could be a good thing. She didn't hypnotize Itachi to be happy. He was happy. His joy was real. All she did was make him forget the horrors of his past and allow him to have fun without feeling guilty. He was truly happy. A feeling he may not know again when he comes back to his senses. She let him have a chance to be happy and enjoy himself. For that he was thankful. Even if he didn't know what he was thankful for, he knew he was. Hopefully when he went back to normal, he would still be thankful to her.

It made her happy. And sad at the same time. Even if this wasn't supposed to last, she wanted Itachi to be happy. Even if he didn't think he deserved to be.

* * *

This fic will end in the next and last chapter.

Please review if you want to know how it all ends ^-^


	40. A Complete What of Yourself?

**Chapter 40: A Complete What of Yourself?**

Shortly after they brought Deidara back into the hideout and set him on the floor, it became clear that the spell was nearing its end. No sooner had they set him down did Deidara suddenly start speaking like a normal human being. The change happened almost at once. Zetsu stopped cleaning the kitchen, wondering why he had the urge to do so in the first place. In the middle of a huge giggle fit over the magic piece of paper, Sasori suddenly stopped and stared at the piece of paper, wondering why he found it so funny. In fact, why was he holding it in the first place? It became clear to Konan that their time had run out. It didn't happen in the way she figured. They just came to their senses without ever knowing that they had been different.

But that was over an hour ago. Now everyone was gathered in the living room area discussing what had happened. Most weren't aware that anything had been amiss, but two or three had a bone to pick with a certain Uchiha. Or in Kisame's case, laugh about it while telling everyone what had happened. Soon, most of the other members were having a good laugh about it. But not everyone.

"I can't believe you did that to me!" Deidara yelled. "How could you, hn?!" Proof that the hypnosis was no longer in effect, Deidara didn't hit himself over the head this time around. It really had worn off. None of the commands worked anymore.

"How do you think I feel?" spat Hidan. "I swore I'd kill that Uchiha bastard myself! Have is ass on a platter!"

Kisame laughed loudly. "It was hilarious, you have to admit."

"No it wasn't!"

"You should see it from my point of view, then." Kisame happily polished his beloved sword, no longer afraid to hold it in his hands, much less look upon it. "Don't be mad, Deidara. We all did it."

"You what?!"

"We all manipulated you. Right, Hidan? Didn't you have a go at him, too?"

Hidan chuckled. "Hell yeah I did. Funny as all hell. I had you kick that bastard's ass real good."

"But you did it to me, too?! It doesn't matter if you had me kick Itachi's ass if I didn't do it with my own free will!"

"Don't be such a baby about it, you jackass."

"You made a good girl, though. Gotta admit that."

"Sh- shut up about that!" Deidara's face started to turn bright red.

"I mean it. Very fitting."

"It's true."

"Shut up!" Deidara screamed.

Hidan started laughing along with the others. "It was a nice dress, too!"

"I said shut up! I was delusional!"

"You were hot!"

"Stop making fun of me, hn!"

Kisame laughed even harder. "You know what? You two really should hook up. You already act like a couple."

They both turned to glare at him. "Aw, shut up, fish-face."

"Aw, go back to kissing like you did before," Kisame laughed. "All passionate and crap."

Now both Hidan and Deidara were bright red. "Wh- what'd you say?!"

"Yeah, you two were kissing and making out and cuddling and everything. It was sick and wrong but SO freaking FUNNY!"

"W- we did not!"

"No way!"

"Yes, you did. Both of you!"

They looked at each other and scooted away to opposite ends of the couch.

Kisame continued to laugh. "Lovers!"

"Stop saying that, hn!"

"I'll kill you, I swear to Jashin! Your scaly ass is mine, you puss!"

"Nah, nah… Deidara was the puss," corrected Kakuzu. "Someone had the gumption to make him act like a cat. I saw him crawling around the place like an idiot."

Deidara couldn't be anymore tense. He was gripping the couch so tightly, his fingernails poked holes in the cushion. "I can't believe you all did that to me! How could you?!"

"Consider it hazing, you pansy," Hidan said with a laugh. "I mean you are the youngest of all of us."

"So you're saying I deserve it?! Is that it?!"

Kakuzu shook his head. "Nah… Nothing like that…" A gleam appeared in his dark eyes. "But I would have put wages on who would come up with the best ideas."

"You bet me?!"

"Only if I knew what was going on. At the time, I was staying away from all of you morons."

Deidara started pulling on his hair, growling. "I can't believe you did that to me! Everyone single one of you! How could you?!"

"How many times are you going to say that, puss?" asked Hidan.

"As many damn times as I want! I'm in shock, hn! You all took advantage of me!"

"It was pretty damn funny as hell."

"Hidan's right about that. So it's not all Itachi's fault since we all had a hand in it," said Kisame. "Well, everyone except for Konan. It was mostly us messing with you. She stayed out of it. I doubt if she even knew what was going on."

Konan, who had been standing quietly in the corner, looked down nervously but no one took notice.

"Be that as it may, let's face facts," said Zetsu. "Itachi was the one who started it all with his Sharingan. That opened up a window for all of us to take advantage of the situation. So he's the one who started it. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, and none of us would have had any fun or a good laugh… even if it was at Deidara's expense."

Now, Deidara hated Itachi even more. But he couldn't focus his rage on just him with so many other people to blame. He was shaking with anger.

"Hey, I'm the one who should be mad at Itachi more than anyone. Did you see the things he had me do?" asked Hidan. "All that crap for a few cheap laughs. He was the only one commanding me, ain't that right, Kisame?"

"It's true. I asked him to share but he refused to tell me how to control you… so he let me have Deidara instead. That was pretty fun."

"See?" Hidan turned to face Itachi. "I'm the one who should be taking you down, you ass-hat. You're such a son of a-"

"Like you didn't deserve it," started Kakuzu. "I've been wanting to put you in your place for a long time."

"Oh, so you like being manipulated, is that it?"

"No, I just-"

"You just what, Kakuzu?"

"Hey, I'm sure he did stuff to me, too," said Kisame. "And I'm his partner. How do you think I feel?"

"Oh, please. You should be used to it. He practically pulls you around on a leash as it is," retorted Hidan. "A little S and M thing going on, huh?"

"You're sick, Hidan."

"So's Itachi for doing all of this! What about the things we don't remember? Get that image out of your heads!"

"I'd rather not think about it…"

"Cruel as hell, Itachi. I mean, how could you? You wanna tell us what else you did to us?"

"You want details?"

"I'd like to know what I'm killing him for!"

Itachi sat perfectly still in a wooden chair without a word, listening to their criticisms. After everyone started coming around, Konan noticed that Itachi had grown very quiet, much like his usual self. He was no longer the laidback, easygoing, mischievous person he was before. When the conversation started, he just sat there and took it. He didn't argue back, he didn't mention Konan or anything. He just sat there without a word.

"This isn't over!" Deidara yelled. It was more to everyone in the room than just Itachi. "I swear I'll finish this! Revenge! I'll get back at all of you for treating me like this!"

"I get first dibs," Hidan was already tracing a triangle on the floor with his heels, warming up for what was to come. "The things he did to me are unforgivable."

"Get in line… or better yet, don't let it get to you," Kisame told them. "The guy's always been heartless and cold as ice. He's got no remorse… What do you expect from a guy who slaughtered his whole clan and then some?"

"So what? You killed your comrades, too, didn't you, Kisame?" asked Zetsu.

"Yeah, I don't deny that. In fact, we've all done things like that, am I right? So can you really blame Itachi for this stuff? We'd all do the same thing in his position, right?"

"He's still a dirty bastard who deserves to die!"

"Don't try to talk me out of revenge, hn! I already hate his guts! I don't need to hear some sob story to try to make me feel sorry for the guy. As far as I'm concerned, you all need to get what's coming to you… but him the most, hn!"

Itachi stood up causing everyone to look up at him. "Say what you will about me and do what you want. I don't care. It's over now." He started to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute," called Kisame. "How do we know you won't do it again to us?"

Itachi paused. "That kind of technique can only be used once, it's so powerful. I don't think I ever can do it again. Even if I could, what's the point? You're all on to me anyway." Itachi turned his back to them and left the room.

Hidan leaned forward to ask Kisame something. "Is that really true?"

"I guess so. Otherwise we wouldn't be here right now… right? I'm not an expert on his Sharingan or anything but still…"

Konan watched Itachi leave and felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. Everyone was blaming Itachi for everything. At first she thought it would be a good thing, but now that she saw how much malice they felt towards him, she regretted it. Itachi had returned to his old quiet if not moody self, but Konan couldn't help but feel as if he was brooding more than usual. The other Akatsuki members were taking this a little too far. Their rage was focused on the wrong person. She was to blame as well.

She had to go have a talk with him and get everything straightened out. She moved to the other side of the room to follow Itachi, briefly touching hands with Sasori who was sitting nearby. At her touch, Sasori looked up. Konan pulled away, moving towards the nearest hallway. As she did, Sasori found himself momentarily reaching out for her warm hand, stopping himself before he could touch her hand again. It was an odd feeling. Almost like he wanted to hold hands with her. Like close friends or a mother figure. Sasori lay his hands in his lap and looked at his palms, interlocking his fingers.

"You alright, my man?"

Sasori looked up, pulling his cold hands into his sleeves. "I'm fine."

"You had a funny look on your face, hn."

"I was just thinking."

"Looks like Sasori's plotting his revenge as well," Kisame laughed, still finding this whole thing amusing.

"Why? It's not like Itachi did anything to him," said Kakuzu. "We were the ones who had to suffer."

"True dat, bitch!" Hidan was licking the handle of his favorite scythe and tugging at his necklace, daydreaming about his future rampage. "Oh, I can picture it now..! His ass is mine!"

"Take a number, hn! I have first dibs! After everything that idiot made me do, I deserve it, hn!"

"Ooh! A lover's quarrel. I love it!"

"Shut up, Kisame!" Hidan and Deidara shouted in unison.

Kakuzu started smirking beneath his raised collar. "I'm taking bets for who gets even with Itachi first. Want to put money on it, Zetsu?"

"Nah. I'll just see how this plays out."

* * *

"Itachi, wait!" Konan finally caught up to him in the middle of the hall far away from the other room where the other members were gathered. Itachi stopped walking but didn't turn around. "Let's go back there and tell everyone this was my doing."

"I don't think so."

"But it was my fault. I did this and they're blaming you."

"So? I had a hand in it."

"Yes, but I-"

"Konan, it's fine."

"No, it's not. I did it. I'm the one who started it."

Itachi shook his head slightly. "I was the one who manipulated them into acting like fools."

"But you wouldn't have done that if I hadn't changed your personality. Ergo, it's my fault."

"No, you didn't change my personality. You took away my guilt."

"Which effected your personality. The actions of your past and consequences shape who you are today. Since I made you forget your past, it changed who you are now. I did that to you. It's my fault. If I hadn't-"

"I told you, it's fine."

"But they're blaming you! You're not the only one at fault here. I had a hand in it, too."

Itachi kept his back to Konan, standing very still. His shoulders quivered slightly as if stifling a laugh. "And what will you tell them? Hm? That you used hypnosis on them? They'll never take that for an answer. Saying that it was the Sharingan is much more believable. If I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes, I also wouldn't have believed it. It's considered a parlor trick at best."

He was covering for her and she knew it. Itachi was going to take the blame no matter what Konan had to say about it. "Why do you feel like you need to take the wrap for this? The fault wasn't all yours. I share in the blame and yet you're trying to pin it all on yourself."

"You just wanted to use that ability to keep us from fighting. Seeing how we behaved not two seconds after entering the door that first day, I don't blame you for wanting that. We were out of control," he said simply. "I was the one who made things more chaotic. You had good intentions and I just wanted to mess around."

Konan sighed. There was no way he was going to listen to her. His mind was made up. "You just have to harbor all this guilt and negativity, don't you? I told you that you're not alone in this and you still don't want them to know I did it as well." She stared at his back, trying to read him the way he did her. "I saw how happy and free you were when I took those feelings away. You're suffering in silence. You couldn't get rid of your pain so you had someone else do it for you."

"And why shouldn't I suffer?" He said abruptly. "I can't let go of those feelings. The things that I did… This is my punishment. I knew it would be from the start. I just thought…" Itachi bowed his head low as if ashamed. "I just thought… I could get rid of those feelings. Just for a little while. I knew I would carry these feelings for the rest of my life and suffer as a way to atone for my sins until my death…"

That's why he couldn't allow himself to forget or to feel happiness. He felt he had no right to be happy after what he did. His punishment was to feel this way for the rest of his life. If he tried to put those feelings out of his heart and his mind, his past would be meaningless. It was punishment and he couldn't give up a punishment just because it wasn't enjoyable. That would be missing the point of what a punishment was.

It may have seemed a little extreme, but this was what Itachi felt would be best for him. He killed his family and made his beloved baby brother hate him and wish to kill him. He deserved this misery.

Konan shook her head, even knowing that Itachi couldn't see her do so. "So you're going to take the blame for everything? Even when you're not the only one at fault? No one died this week. What you did was embarrass them. It's mild compared to what could have happened. You didn't kill anyone. So you don't have to take all the blame for yourself. I should share in it."

"I told you, it's easier this way."

"So they hate you instead of me? Why would you do that and don't tell me it's because you deserve it."

"Because I'm a coward!" Itachi nearly shouted.

Konan said nothing and watched his back. His shoulders quivered again tensing up. Though his hands were hidden in his sleeves, she knew he was balling them into fists.

"Do you know why I waited until night fell before I attacked and killed my clan?" Itachi asked with an eerily calm voice. "It's because I knew them. The people I saw everyday. The people I waved to and said hello to every morning. I walked by their homes, we chatted, they asked after me and my family. Everyday acts of kindness and invitations to a meal. Their smiles and praise, the touch of their hands and a warm hug. The people I knew and could call my family. I couldn't bear to look into their eyes as I watched them die. I thought the night would help mask their faces so I wouldn't see them… I could distance myself and pretend it was something else, like I was attacking a straw doll in the woods. I thought it would ease my..." Itachi exhaled sharply. "It didn't help much."

Konan could sense the pain he was feeling through his words. He was trying not to let it effect his voice, but Konan knew. She understood.

"I killed my parents last," he went on. I asked them to turn around. It wasn't for their sake as much as it was for mine. I couldn't bear to look at them, looking into their eyes as I watched them die by my hand. I knew once I killed them, that would be the end. The end of everything I knew to be my life. And my father… Right before he died, he told me that I was always a gentle child. So caring…" He exhaled again. "I was crying when I killed them. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. No matter how many times I said I was sorry… And then Sasuke came home." Itachi's voice started to break. He tried to cover it up with a cough and inhaled deeply trying to compose himself. "I had just enough time to wipe my tears away in the shadows and put on a coldhearted front, so he'd think I enjoyed it and felt nothing."

Just another mask he had to wear. He couldn't let people know the truth. He couldn't let people know the real him.

"Itachi…" Konan spoke softly.

At last, he turned around. His eyes held no tears but she could clearly see the pain and deep sadness only someone in his position could carry. "I've never told anyone that before."

"Not ever?"

"No. You're the first." Itachi didn't look away for a second. "I don't know why that is. I just feel like I can open up to you. Maybe it's trust. I'm not sure. Maybe the hypnosis hasn't completely worn off yet. Opening up like this isn't something I normally do. In fact, it may not happen again."

"Just to me..?" Konan said slowly. She tried to understand why this was. "What about Kisame? You two are partners and he's also killed people close to him. I would think that… even though it's not the same… that you…"

He shook his head. "Unlike me, Kisame enjoyed it. He killed his comrades for the sake of his mission, claiming that they were slowing him down and couldn't help him achieve his goals. It had nothing to do with love." Itachi gave a soft chuckle. "Besides, I wouldn't think someone like Kisame would understand or have a decent conversation with someone on such a topic. In case it's escaped your notice, none of the members in the next room are exactly sensitive, especially when it comes to others around them. They're not the touchy-feely type to say the least. What one would call having a heart they misinterpret as being a 'pussy'. Mourning over the loss of an entire family which happened by one's own hand is considered 'emo'. They're not very understanding. Granted, one can take it too far, but men do have emotions. Even ninja. Which may be the reason why we're taught to give up our emotions, stating that they get in the way."

"Having emotions can be a good thing as well. That way you know you're still human and sometimes they can help you in a tight spot. Knowing when to spare a life and when to take one. Understanding what a 'true enemy' is. This world would be a lot better if people explored their emotions and expressed themselves. Love, kindness and consideration. This harsh world needs more of that."

Itachi shut his eyes with a thin smile on his face. "How like a woman to say something like that."

Her face started to turn red.

"Don't be angry. I never said I didn't agree with you." Itachi turned his back to her again and started walking away. "After the things I've seen and the things I've done, I wouldn't mind living in a world like that. Maybe then I can find peace."

He had a plan. He made sure everything was in place. Though he wanted to die to atone for his sins, he couldn't allow it to happen. Not yet. He planned to die by Sasuke's hand an no other's. He made sure Sasuke would hate him all to end his life. Knowing Sasuke was always weaker than he was, naturally Itachi was worried about him. If Sasuke could best him in battle and kill him, then it would prove that Sasuke was strong enough to handle himself. Itachi wouldn't have to worry anymore. This was what Konan heard Itachi say while in his trance. According to what she knew, people couldn't lie while under hypnosis, so these must have been Itachi's true feelings and thoughts.

Itachi carried such a heavy burden. He kept so much to himself and felt such a sadness Konan would never fully know. Everything Itachi did was for a reason. She just had to learn to give him his space and go on with her own thing and not bother him. Even so, despite everything she had witnessed, everything she knew and everything she heard, she couldn't help but feel closer to him. Maybe the fact that he was able to tell her all this was a way of confirming that they were now friends and not just allies. She felt like she had finally gotten to know a little more about the real Itachi.

But, just like the ninja world, things were always more complicated than they appeared. Reality wasn't so clear or easy to understand. There were layers, just like people.

* * *

Sasori sat in front of his puppets and stared at them. He had gathered up his mother and father puppets and sat them in front of him. All he did was stare for the longest time. Finally, after several motionless minutes, he reached out and clasped his mother's wooden hand. It was just as cold as his, holding no warmth or tenderness. He crawled into her lap and sat down, draping her arms over his shoulders. He sat there, tangled in arms, feeling so lonely.

Something was missing. His puppets didn't bring him the comfort they used to. He longed for human contact, but humans rarely did what one wanted. These puppets suddenly appeared as uncaring as humans for some unknown reason.

He leaned into them, trying to sort it out. The more he thought, the further away he came to a conclusion.

He pulled them closer to his body and nuzzled them. "What is this feeling?" he wondered aloud.

Was he missing something or wasn't he? He felt so confused. He felt lonely for the first time ever. Yet at the same time, he felt like an emptiness inside of him had been filled. It was the oddest mixture of feelings he had never experienced before.

If he felt lonely then that would mean that something had been taken away from him. He had grown used to something and enjoyed it and now it was gone.

At the same time, he felt satisfied, as if an unfulfilled desire of his past had been resolved and achieved.

Sasori sat back into his parents with a sigh. "What is going on with me today? Did Itachi do something to me? I feel weird." Happy but weird.

A tremor went through the walls and floor, making everything in the room vibrate. Sasori sat straight up, looking around wide-eyed. He sealed away his parents back into their scrolls and ran to the door. He looked out into the hallway. Dust was coming down from the ceiling and the wooden beams began to creak and splinter.

Hidan stood in the hallway with his hands on either wall, keeping himself from falling over as the floor shook like an earthquake. "What the hell's going on?!" he shouted over the rumbling.

"How should I know?!" Sasori shouted back. One of the beams snapped, landing to his left. The ceiling started to cave in. "Run for it!"

Needing no further persuasion, Hidan took off running. He ran past the other ninja coming out of their various rooms, looking around in shock and confusion. "Run, you sons of bitches! Run!"

Tightly packed together, they ran for the front door, their only way out. There was a loud crash behind them as the ceiling fell, the building in the hill caving in on itself. They got stuck at the door, all trying to get through at once. With one hard shove, they pushed their way through and outside. They turned around to watch their hideout collapse like a poorly made sandcastle.

Covered in dirt and rubble, the Akatsuki members looked at each other. "What the hell just happened?"

"It just… fell down..!"

"How'd that happen?"

Charred and covered in dirt, the Akatsuki's only blond member jumped up with a twisted smile on his face. "Revenge!" he shouted so loud it caused the rubble to shift slightly.

"You?!" Kakuzu spat. "You did this?!"

"I rigged the area around Itachi's room with explosives so it would cave in on him. Even if he wasn't buried alive, at least this way he would have a place to stay. Bye-bye bedroom." Deidara jumped in Itachi's face, flicking his forehead repeatedly. "How do you like me now?! Huh?! What do you think of that, you freaking idiot?!"

"You're the freaking idiot!" shouted Zetsu.

"Way to get back at him," said Sasori, folding his arms. "Now where are we supposed to sleep? The whole hideout's gone!"

Deidara's triumphant smile diminished as he turned back to the pile of dirt and wood behind them with a squeak. "Oh… Didn't think about that…"

The other Akatsuki members rounded on him, pulling out their weapons.

"Uh…" Deidara gulped. "This is just a minor miscalculation. Um… No big deal. We can let bygones be bygones, right? In light of what Itachi did to all of us, surely we can over look this, hn?"

Hidan traced a circle containing a triangle in the dirt with his heel and his skin now took on a more panda-like color. "You are so freaking dead, Deidara!"

"W-w- wait! Y- you can't kill me with that! I- I thought you needed, like, blood or something to use that technique, hn."

"I can at least beat you within an inch of your life!"

Kakuzu started digging through the rubble with his bare hands. "You start without me! My money's still inside! Trapped under all this!"

"No problem!" Kisame smiled, grabbing his beloved sword from his back. "And if you need his blood, Hidan, I'm on it! A Deidara cabob coming right up!"

Sasori summoned his puppets to the scene. "I bet you thought it was pretty, didn't you? Seeing the building go down like that. I bet I can top it with the damage I'm about to inflict on you! It'll last much longer!"

Deidara backed away slowly. "What are you guys getting so mad about? It's not like it was home or anything like that. We're only going to be here for a couple more days. What's the big deal, hn?"

"Get him!"

He took off running, screaming his head off as half the Akatsuki chased after him, threatening his life.

Konan hung back, shaking her head. "He really needs to think these things out more before he acts…"

"What a surprise. You bring them all together and they bring the house down."

Konan turned around hearing a voice from the woods. Their leader had finally shown up. "You're here..!" Konan gasped quietly.

"My headache's finally gone so I decided to check up on you." The Akatsuki leader looked from the collapsed building to the angry members chasing Deidara with their deadliest weapons. "So what happened here?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Deidara wailed, zigzagging between trees which Kisame cleaved with incredible ease. "I only meant to get Itachi! It was an accident, hn!"

"Come here so I can kill you, you miserable cur!"

Konan sighed heavily, standing beside their powerful leader, who went unnoticed by the rampaging Akatsuki, blinded by their rage. "It's a long, long story."

Pein started to smile. "Start from the beginning. Tell me all about it."

* * *

The end!

I hope you enjoyed it. ^-^

Now that it's done, I kind of want to do more. Figures, after I end it, then I get a bunch of other ideas! T^T

... I could always do a second one... ^^

Thanks for reading! Please review! ^-^


End file.
